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M  E  jVr  O  R  I  ^  L 


REUNION  or  THE   NATIVES 


WESTHAMPTON,    MASS-: 


SEPTEMBER  o.   1866. 


Young  folks  aic  smart,  but  all  aia't  good  thet's  uew  ; 
1  guess  the  grau'thers  they  knowed  sunthin',  tu. 
They  toiled  an'  prayed,  built  sure  in  the  beginnin'. 
An'  let  na  never  tech  the  underpinnin'. 

BiGLOw  Papkks  Improved. 


WALTHAM : 
OFFICE    OF   THE   FREE    PRESS 

1866. 


INTRODUCTORY  KOTE. 

Centennial  celebrations,  and  Reunions  of  the  natives  of 
given  towns,  are  modern  features  of  our  New  England  history. 
Our  country  is  yet  in  its  youth.  None  of  our  municipal  com 
munities  have  existed  long  enough  to  admit  of  more  than  two 
centennial  jubilees,  and  many  of  them  have  had  but  one. 
Such  occasions  are  replete  with  the  deepest  interest  to  the 
living  descendants  of  generations  which  have  passed  away. 
They  afford  an  opportunity  to  gather  up,  and  put  upon  record, 
the  memories  of  the  past,  to  pay  our  dutiful  respects  to  parents, 
grandparents  and  still  more  distant  progenitors,  and  to  preserve 
green  in  our  recollections  their  household  fidelity,  their  social 
worth,  their  unfaltering  patriotism,  and  their  consecrated  piety. 

A  want  of  proper  respect  for  antiquity  is  said  to  be  one  of 
the  grand  defects  of  our  national  taste.  If  it  is  a  blemish  in 
our  character,  much  should  be  pardoned  to  the  stern  neces- 
sities of  pilgrim  and  frontier  life,  to  the  incessant  struggle  of 
the  first  settlers  for  existence,  surrounded  by  hostile  savages 
and  a  frowning  wilderness,  under  inclement  skies,  and,  more 
than  all,  with  an  almost  total  want  of  sympathy  in  the  land 
that  gave  them  birth.  The  fathers  of  New  England  had  little 
time  to  spend  in  communion  with  the  past.  The  necessities 
of  the  present  were  all  engrossing ;  and  yet,  such  is  the  tes- 
timony of  all  contemporary  and  impartial  history,  that,  in  addi- 
tion to  their  unquenchable  love  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
they  had  more  taste  for  institutions  which  were  hoary  with 
time,  more  love  of  literature  and  science,  more  relish  for  works  of 
art,  and  a  far  higher  regard  for  the  immortal  welfare  of 
their  children  and  their  children's  children,  than  have  distin- 
guished any  other  pioneers  the  world  has  seen.  It  is  fitting, 
then,  pre-eminently  fitting,  that  we,  their  descendants,  should 
honor  their  memories,  defend  their  names  from  undeserved 
reproach,  and  reproduce  in  our  own  lives,  but  in  a  far  higher 


4  -SVESTHAMPTON    REUNION. 

de2;ree,  those  virtues  which  adorned  their  earthly  career, 
enshrined  their  deeds  in  the  gratitude  of  the  workl,  and  pre- 
pared them  for  the  mansions  of  the  blessed. 

To  hold  in  grateful  regard  the  memory  of  our  ancestors,  is 
one  of  the  most  natural  impulses  of  every  ingenuous  heart. 
The  l3ald  selfishness,  so  deftly  set  forth  in  an  old  song : — 

"Of  all  my  father's  relatives,  I  love  mj'self  the  best, 
And  if  I  am  provided  for,  the  Deil  may  take  the  rest." 

may  he  no  caricature  to  some  minds.  It  may  exactly  reflect 
their  taste,  but  it  must  be  rejected  with  'disgust  by  all  the  dis- 
interested and  the  pure.  It  may  have  some  place  among  the 
other  abominations  of  heathendom,  but  Christian  civilization 
teaches  us  to  "rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,"  and  to  respect 
even  the  child,  for 'he  is  "the  father  of  the  man." 

It  is  with  these  convictions  of  filial  duty,  that  we  put  upon 
record,  in  this  unpretending  pamphlet,  the  profound  acknowl- 
edgment of  our  deepest  obligation  to  \he  fathers  and  mothers 
of  Westhampton.  "We  often  see  in  Massachusetts,  the  last 
place  on  the  earth  where  such  an  impropriety  should  appear, 
the  egregious  moral  solecism  committed,  of  garnishing  the 
sepulchres  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  at  the  same  time  repudiating 
their  faith.  Of  this  superlative  inconsistency,  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  this  town  are  comparatively  innocent.  We  do 
not  propose  to 

"Give  bond  in  stone  and  ever  during  brass," 
to  immortalize  the  memory  of  our  fathers,  but  we  do  it  upon 
the  worthier  tablets  of  grateful  hearts. 


WESTHAMPTON    REUXION. 


PUBLIC  EXERCISES   OF    THE   REUNION. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  5,  18G6,  was  a  great  day  for  the  natives 
of  Westliampton.  It  was  their  first  social  gathering  on  the 
spot,  hallowed  by  all  the  sacred  associations  of  birth,  early 
recollections,  and  reminiscences  of  departed  ancestors.  The 
weather  was  delightful.  The  company  embraced  some  three 
hundred  natives  of  the  town  now  residing  abroad,  a  large 
number  of  the  distinguished  citizens  of  the  neighboring  towns, 
and  nearl}'  all  the  present  residents,  counting  up  some  1200 
souls.  The  Hampshire  Gazette  said, —  "The  literarj^  exercises 
were  of  an  exceedingly  high  character,  full  of  historic  lore  and 
honorable  and  merited  eulogy  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  the 
town,  and  breathing  a  high  moral  and  religious  fervor,  showing- 
how  broadly  the  foundations  of  the  moral,  religious  and  mental 
culture  of  the  returned  natives  had  been  laid  in  their  youth, 
and  how  abundantly  the  good  seed  had  sprung  up  to  a  noble 
harvest."  It  was  properly  speaking  a  centennial  celebration  of 
the  settlement  of  the  town,  for  the  earliest  inhabitants  came  in 
and  began  to  fell  the  forests  just  about  one  hundred  years  ago, 
though  the  town  was  not  incorporated  till  some  twelve  years 
afterwards.  The  suggestion  of  a  celebration  of  this  kind  was 
first  made,  a  j^ear  or  two  since,  by  Rev.  George  Lj^man,  of 
Sutton,  Mass.,  but  it  did  not  at  that  time  assume  any  par- 
ticular form.  At  the  annual  town  meeting,  last  spring,  the 
subject  was  again  considered,  and  it  was  voted  to  hold  such  a 
reunion ;  and  Messrs.  Matthias  Rice,  H.  "W.  Montague,  R.  W. 
Clapp,  E.  H.  Lyman,  and  G.  B.  Drury  were  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee to  carry  the  plan  into  execution.  This  committee, 
though  fully  aware  of  the  magnitude  of  the  work,  and  of  the 
sacrifices  they  would  personally  be  obliged  to  make  to  get  up 
and  carry  successfully  through  an  undertaking  so  novel  and  ex- 
tensive, took  hold  of  it  with  a  will,  and  bj'' their  judicious  coun- 
sels and  untiring  labors,  seconded  by  the  liberal  responses  of 


b  WESTHAMPTON    REUNION. 

the  citizens  and  of  the  natives  far  and  near,  they  prosecuted  it 
to  a  successful  completion.  The  committee  deserve  the  sincere 
thanks  of  all  concerned  for  their  gi-atuitous  and  highly  useful 
services. 

Of  the  character  of  the  audience,  and  of  the  exercises  in  the 
Church,  the  Hampshire  Gazette  gave  the  following  pictorial 
description  : 

"The  natives  of  the  town  comprise  a  noble  hand  of  men  and 
women,  who  would  do  honor  to  any  locality.  Among  them  are 
many  clergymen  of  distinction,  now  settled  in  various  parts  of 
the  country,  and  others  who  have  achieved  high  and  honorable 
positions  in  various  professional  and  business  callings.  No 
town  can  boast  a  noisier  ancestrv,  or  point  to  more  creditable 
descendants  than  the  good  old  town  of  AVesthampton.  Among 
the  clergymen  present,  natives  of  the  town,  Avere  the  Eev.  J. 
Lyman  Clark,  D.  D.,  of  Waterbury,  Conn.,  Kev.  Dorus  Clarke, 
of  AValtham,  Mass.,  Rev.Tertius  S.  Clarke,  D.  D.,  of  Cuyahoga 
Falls,  Ohio,  Rev.  Calvin  Clark,  of  Marshall,  Michigan,  Rev. 
George  Lyman,  of  Sutton,  Mass.,  Rev.  Chester  Bridgman,  for- 
merly settled  in  Ludlow,  Mass.,  Rev.  Prof.  Melzar  Montague,  of 
Ripon  College,  Wisconsin,  Rev.  Enos  J.  Montague,  of  Ocono- 
mowoc,  Wisconsin,  Rev.  Luther  Clapp,  of  Wauwatosa,  Wiscon- 
sin, Rev.  James  Brewer,  of  Allen's  Grove,  Wisconsin,  Rev. 
Anson  Clark,  of  Hartford,  Wisconsin.  There  were  also  pres- 
ent. Rev.  John  H.  Bisbee,  of  Worthington,  who  married  in 
Westhampton,  and  is  therefore  a  semi-native ;  Rev.  A.  M. 
Colton,  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Easthampton,  Rev.  Henry 
L.  Edwards,  of  Abington,  Mass.,  and  Rev.  Osman  A.  Lj^man, 
of  the  Lane  Seminary,  Ohio.  Of  phj^sicians  there  were  present 
Dr.  Anson  Hooker,  of  East  Cambridge,  son  of  the  long-time 
phj-sician  of  the  town,  Dr.  William  Hooker,  and  Dr.  Jewett,  of 
the  West.  Other  professions  and  business  callings  were  repre- 
sented by  the  two  able  and  distinguished  historians  of  the  day, 
Messrs.  Judd  and  Clapp,  and  by  E.  Munson  Kingsley,  Esq.,  of 
New  York,  Zenas  M.  Phelps,  Esq.,  of  Riverdale,  N.  Y.,  E.  C. 
Bridgman,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  and  others. 

THE    SERVICES    IN   THE    CHURCH 

were  commenced  at  10  o'clock,  and  every  available  seat  and 
standing  place   were  occupied.      The   edifice   probably   never 


WESTHAMPTON   REUNION.  7 

before  had  so  distinguished  au  audience.  The  pulpit  platform, 
enlarged  and  carpeted  for  the  occasion,  was  occupied  by  native 
clergymen,  and  thickly  interspersed  in  the  large  audience  were 
the  gray  hairs  and  venerable  forms  of  many  aged  citizens  and 
guests.  The  exercises  consisted  of  singing  by  a  well  trained 
choir  of  about  thirty  members,  embracing  the  maiden  in  her 
teens  and  the  veteran  of  fifty,  under  the  direction  of  A.  H. 
Bridgman,  an  opening  prayer  by  Rev.  Calvin  Clark,  the  ad- 
dress of  welcome,  the  historical  addresses,  and  the  poem. 
Their  delivery,  with  the  prayer  and  the  intervening  singing, 
occupied  two  hours  and  three-quarters,  and  so  deepl}'  inter- 
ested were  all,  that  no  one  felt  weary  or  manifested  the  least 
impatience  thi'oughout.  An  interesting  deviation  from  the  es- 
tablished programme  was  the  singing,  by  the  choir  and  congre- 
gation, of  the  78th  psalm,  deaconed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bisbee. 
This  was  done  in  the  good  old-fashioned  st3de.  Another 
feature  of  the  exercises  'not  on  the  bill,'  reminding  one  of  the 
earlier  times,  was  the  presence  of  several  infant  children,  whose 
shi'ill  notes,  continued  almost  without  ceasing  from  beginning 
to  end  of  the  services,  apprised  the  celebrationists  that  the  ma- 
terial for  another  reunion  many  years  hence,  would  not  be 
wanting.  No  one,  however,  seemed  to  feel  disturbed  by  their 
.'plaintive  notes,'  they  being  received  as  a  'matter  of  course.' 
Enoch  H.  Lyman,  Esq.  was  president  of  the  day." 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNION. 


ADDRESS   OF  WELCOME. 


BY   R.    W.    CLAPP. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  Brothers  and  Sisters : 

All  who  have  come  to  "Westhampton  to-day  to  meet  brothers 
and  sisters,  friends  and  kindred,  to  visit  the  places  of  their 
birth,  to  look  upon  the  changes  which  time  and  hand  have 
wrought,  to  seek  out  spots  in  which  they  were  once  interested 
or  from  which  they  ever  gained  pleasure — we  welcome  you  !  I 
stand  here,  in  behalf  of  this  people,  to  offer  yon  their  most 
cordial  greeting.  "NVe  hope  that  while  you  stay  you  will  feel  at 
home  with  us,  and  we  will  endeavor  to  make  our  homes  such 
that  you  may  thus  feel.  Over  these  rock-ribbed  hills  you  may 
wander,  from  these  cold  health  giving  springs  bubbling  forth 
from  their  sides  3'ou  mvcy  drink,  from  their  high  pointed  sum- 
mits the  eye  capable  of  discerning  beauty  in  the  picturesque 
scenery  spread  out  before  it,  may  revel  and  delight ;  wherever 
amid  all  our  surroundings  you  can  find  what  will  delight  the 
eye  and  gratify  the  sense,  or  if  there  be  any  place  hallowed  in 
your  inemories,  there  we  invite  you ;  and  there  the  mid  day 
zephjTS  and  evening  breezes  will  waft  no  breath  of  cholera  or 
foul  miasma  to  poison  your  life,  changing  it  in  a  few  short 
hours  into  the  shadow  of  death.  In  your  ramblings  you  will 
see  what  the  hand  of  man  has  been  slack  to  beautify  and  im- 
prove, 3'et  you  may  discover  that  the  fingers  of  the  Great 
Architect  have  been  busy  limning  and  adorning,  thereby  restor- 
ing to  its  primeval  beauty  the  destruction  man  had  caused. 
Although  the  little  we  have  to  offer  3'ou  be  very  small,  accept 
that  little  for  our  sake. 

When  we  contemplate  the  character  and  standing  of  many 
who  meet  with  us  to-day,  and  claim  Westhampton  for  their 
mother,  we  feel  a  little  of  the  sentiment  of  pride  moving  our 
souls,  and  we  are  exultant  in  the  thought  that  we  have  a  com- 
mon birth  place  and  birth  right ;  and  need  not  to  saj^,  that  no 
Esau's  pottage  shall  buy  it  from  us. 

But  who  are  these  whose  hands  we  clasp  in  love  to-day,  to 
whom  we  are  drawn  by  an  irresistible  attraction?  I  will  not 
attempt  to  name  you,  by  any  order  of  nobility.  There  may  be 
a  true  classification  of  titles  ;  I  cannot  give  it.  Doubtless  you 
all  feel  your  royalty.  But  let  me  here  remind  any,  if  such 
there  are,  who  have  chanced  to  bring  along  a  feeling  of  superiority, 


WESTHAMPTOX    REUXION.  9 

that  the}^  must  laj-  it  aside  ;  it  can  find  no  favor  here.  VTe 
■wish  to  find  in  each  and  all,  the  man — minister  and  teacher, 
editor,  lawyer,  doctor,  geographer  and  telegrapher,  statistician 
and  metaph^'sician,  merchant,  artificer,  tailor,  mechanic,  trades- 
man, farmer — all  meet  here,  where  we  had  onr  birth,  upon  a 
common  plane,  and  here,  around  this  altar  of  otir  consecration, 
would  fire  anew  our  hearts  with  the  loves  and  friendships  of 
former  3'ears. 

We  are  glad  so  man}"  have  the  heart  and  means  to  answer 
affirmatively  to  our  call.  But  there  are  many  more  who  have 
the  right  to  l3e  with  us  here  to-day,  and  who,  present  in  their 
thoughts,  will  be  picturing  the  countenances,  the  acts,  the 
words,  the  whole  panorama  of  this  reunion.  A  kind  Providence 
smiles  benignautly  on  all ;  but  from  the  full  bounties  of  His 
store,  they  have  been  unable  to  reap  those  rich  harvests  which 
so  many  of  us  have  gathered  to  the  overflowing  of  our  measures, 
and  they  are  poor,  as  men  count  poverty,  and  cannot  come. 
Others,  besides,  haA'c  their  chosen  fields  of  labor  too  remote,  to 
meet  with  us  consistently. 

Those  who  would,  but  cannot  come,  must  and  will  be  called 
to  mind  b}'  us  to-day.  Let  not  one  of  the  whole  brotherhood 
and  sisterhood  that  claims  this  for  his  or  her  bii'th  place  be  for- 
gotten in  our  memories  here.  ' 

I  need  not  speak  to  you  who  hear  me  of  the  changes  which 
these  many  jears  have  made.  Your  e3-es  will  witness  them. 
Quite  too  often  you  may  be  called  to  wgep,  as  you  look  upon 
dilapidated  dwellings,  desertion,  waste — which  ma}-  remind 
3'ou  of  the  prophec}',  that  "Westhampton  will  yet  become  a 
sheep  pasture." 

Our  prayer  now  is — that  if  the  time  must  come  when  of  this 
town  it  shall  be  written,  desolate,  it  may  not  be  until  the  gi-eat 
I  AM  sweeps  all  nations  into  nothingness.  Notwithstanding 
influences  are  at  work  which  make  this  prospectively'  possible, 
3'et,  we  are  not  sony  that  so  many  went  forth  from  among  us, 
— one  here,  another  there,  carrying  with  them  a  firmly  estab- 
lished faith  in  Him  who  rules  the  Universe,  and  a  strong  belief 
that  the}'  had  a  work  to  do  for  Him.  By  virtue  of  this  belief 
their  influence  has  been  for  good.  In  benefiting  and  blessing 
mankind,  they  are  blessed. 

I  repeat — we  are  glad  so  man}'  have  heeded  the  call  their 
Mother  sends,  and  come  to-day  to  commune  together  upon  this 
hill  top.  "We  ask  the  privilege  of  hearing  every  voice.  The 
old  dwellers  here  need  it  for  their  inspiration,  and  the  young, 
to  inspire  noble  impulses  and  high  aspirations. 

While  we  shall  endeavor  to  minister  to  the  outer  man,  we  de- 
sire you  to  minister  to  the  finer  sensibilities — the  head,  the  heart. 
The  day  is  yours.     Welcome,  Welcome,  Theice  Welcome  ! 


10  WESTHAMPTON    REUlflON. 

HISTORICAL  ADDRESS. 

BY      C.      PARK  MAN      JUDD,      ESQ. 

Reverence  for  our  birth  place  and  for  the  graves  of  our  fore- 
fathers is  a  sentiment  common  to  the  human  race.  The  savage 
treads  gently  over  the  mound  which  covers  the  ashes  of  his 
sires  ;  and  the  last  direction  given  by  the  patriarch  Jacob,  on  his 
deathbed,  was  to  order  his  sons  to  bur}^  him  with  his  fathers  in 
the  cave  of  Machpelah. 

And  to-day  we  have  come  together  at  the  graves  of  our 
fathers  and  mothers,  to  follow  their  footsteps  through  the  wil- 
derness, to  visit  their  humble  firesides,  to  talk  over  their  works, 
praise  their  virtues,  and  to  engrave,  as  with  the  point  of  a  dia- 
mond, their  characters  and  features  upon  the  inmost  tablets  of 
our  memories.  Nor  do  we  come  alone  ;  we  have  brought  up 
Avith  us  the  little  ones,  the  children  and  grand  children,  to  point 
out  to  them  the  meeting-honse  where  our  parents  poured  out 
their  souls  in  praj'er  and  praise  to  the  living  God,  to  show  to 
them  the  fields  where  our  fathers  and  mothers  toiled  for  our 
benefit,  and  where  we,  their  descendants,  spent  the  merry  hours 
of  childhood  and  j'outh  in  preparing  for  the  active  duties  of 
life.  This  is  the  hour  of  joy,  not  of  sorrow.  Our  fathers  con- 
quered all  the  obstacles  in  their  pathway,  and  to-day  we  sing 
hosannas  to  their  name,  and  scatter  the  palm  of  victory  over 
their  tombstones. 

In  Ma}^,  1653,  a  number  of  men  residing  in  Windsor,  Hart- 
ford, and  other  places  in  Connecticut,  petitioned  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  to  grant  them  a  plantation  at  Nonotuck, 
above  Springfield.  In  the  same  month  the  General  Court 
appointed  a  committee  to  divide  this  land  into  two  plantations. 
This  committee  laid  out  the  bounds  of  two  plantations,  one  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Connecticut  river,  and  one  on  the  west 
side. 

The  plantation  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  began  to  be 
settled  in  1654,  and  was  called  Northampton.  It  embraced  the 
territory  now  comprised  in  Northampton,  Southampton,  East- 
hampton  and  Westhampton,  Southampton  was  settled  in  1732, 
and  Easthampton  had  families  in  it  as  early  as  1700.  And 
before  1690,  Northampton  had  divided  and  allotted  off  to  the 
settlers  nearly  all  of  its  territory,  except  a  tract  of  land  in  the 
west  part  of  the  town.  This  westerly  tract  of  land  was  four 
miles  wide  from  east  to  west,  and  six  miles  long  from  north  to 
south,  and  was  called  AVest  or  Long  Division.  Westhampton 
embraces  most  of  this  old  Long  Division  of  Northampton. 


WESTHAMrTON    KEUNION.  11 

The  Indian  title  to  these  two  plantations  had  been  bought  for 
the  planters  in  September,  1653,  for  100  fathoms  of  wam- 
pum, ten  coats,  some  small  gifts,  "and  ploughing  up  16  acres 
of  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Connecticut  river  the  next  sum- 
mer." 

The  name,  "Westhampton,  first  appears  on  record  in  a  vote  of 
the  town  of  Northampton,  in  November,  1774.  Before  this 
vote  the  persons  living  within  the  present  town  of  Westhampton, 
were  usuall}^  called,  both  by  others  and  themselves,  "the  inhab- 
itants of  the  West  or  Long  Division." 

The  name  seems  to  have  originated  in  this  way.  Hampton 
signifies  a  town  on  or  near  a  river,  that  is  a  river  town.  Some 
of  the  first  settlers  upon  the  Connecticut  river,  came  from 
Northampton,  the  name  of  a  city  in  Northamptonshire,  Eng- 
land, on  the  northerly  side  of  the  river  Aufonia.  And  as  the 
new  plantation  was  far  north  of  all  others  on  the  river,  and  a 
bold  enterprise,  the  emigrants  to  Northampton  very  naturall}^ 
and  appropriately  named  the  new  village  upon  the  Connecticut 
river,  Northampton ; — that  is,  the  most  northerh'  town  on  the 
river.  And  Westhampton,  being  taken  from  the  westerly  part 
of  the  plantation,  was  called  Westhampton,  although  the  name 
has  no  fitness  to  the  character  or  situation  of  the  town. 

The  first  settlement  in  Westhampton  was  made  in  the  south- 
westerly part  of  the  town,  near  the  present  highway  which  runs 
from  Kingsley's  mill  by  Norton's  tavern,  to  Norwich.  Before 
the  town  of  Norwich  was  incorporated  in  1773,  that  town  with 
Chester  was  called  Murrayfield,  in  honor  of  Col.  John  Mui-ray 
of  Rutland  ;  and  that  part  of  Murrayfield  which  joined  North- 
ampton was  called  Shirkshire  and  New  Plantation.  People  had 
moved  into  Murrayfield  in  1760,  and  Northampton  wished  to 
open  some  communication  with  the  new  plantation.  And,  for 
this  purpose,  in  1762,  the  town  of  Northampton  laid  out  a  road  to 
the  boundary  line  between  Northampton  and  Murrayfield  or 
Shirkshire,  called  the  Shirkshire  road.  This  road  probably  fol- 
lowed the  old  road  from  Northampton  village  by  Park  Hill  and 
King's  saw  mill  on  the  Manhan  or  King's  river,  to  the  pres- 
ent line  of  Westhampton,  and  thence  through  Westhampton, 
on  to  Murraj^field  ;  substantially  where  the  present  road  goes 
from  Strong  Kingsley's  mill  to  the  boundary  of  Norwich  or 
Huntington.  But  this  road  was  simply  a  line  run  in  the 
smoothest  places  through  the  woods,  Avhose  direction  Avas  indi- 
cated by  some  blaze  marks  upon  the  trees.  It  was  laid  out 
very  wide,  so  that  travelers  on  horseback  could  wind  their  waj^, 
dodging  the  rocks  and  trees.  It  was  some  time  after  this, 
before  the  road  became  well  trodden  into  a  mere  horse  path. 
We  must  not  bemisled  by  the  term  road.  Indeed,  the  great 
route  to  the  west  hrough  Blandford,  which  had  been  used  more 


12  WESTHA3IPT0N    REUNION. 

than  GO  j'ears,  was  in  the  time  of  the  Eevolution  so  bad  and 
rongh  that  it  is  said  to  have  taken  20  j'oke  of  oxen  and  80  men 
to  conve}'  a  mortar  over  the  hills  to  the  encampment  at  "West 
Point. 

Abner  Smith  was  the  person  who  made  the  first  permanent 
settlement  within  the  present  limits  of  the  town  of  AVesthamp- 
ton.  He  is  snpposed  to  have  come  from  Connecticut  to  Chester 
or  Murrayfield,  where  he  remained  a  short  time,  and  he  removed 
from  thence  to  "NYesthampton  some  time  in  17G2.  It  is  certain 
that  he  was  taxed  for  a  poll  this  year,  for  the  first  time.  He 
first  cleared  up  some  land,  not  far  from  the  spot  where  Dea. 
Enoch  Lyman  used  to  live.  Here  he  built  a  log  house,  sup- 
posed to  be  just  over  the  brook  Avhere  the  blacksmith's  shop 
afterward  stood.  Here  on  the  banks  of  the  Manhan,  the  settle- 
ment first  began  ;  here  the  first  opening  was  made  in  the  wilder- 
ness. He  remained  here  a  year  or  two  and  then  he  built  a  log 
house  on  the  south  side  of  the  old  Shirkshire  road,  and  sold  the 
place  to  Jonathan  Fisher  in  1770.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  Fisher  place.  The  second  settler  was  Ebenezer  French, 
wdio  is  snpposed  to  have  come  from  Southampton,  some  time  in 
1763.  He  was  concerned  in  King's  sawmill,  and  finally  became 
the  owner  of  two-thirds  of  it.  This  mill  brought  him  to  the 
wilds  of  AYesthampton,  where  he  selected  a  spot  for  his  planta- 
tion as  near  to  his  mill  as  he  could  find  on  the  Shirkshire  road. 
He  made  a  clearing  and  built  a  log  house  very  near  the  old 
tavern  stand  of  landlord  Wright,  recently  occupied  by  Martin 
Wright.  Both  Smith  and  French  were  taxed  by  the  town  of 
Northampton  in  17G3  and  17G4.  In  the  latter  year.  Smith  was 
taxed  for  7  acres  of  land,  2  horses,  1  yoke  of  oxen,  2  cows,  and 
3  hogs,  and  French  was  taxed  for  20  acres  of  land,  1  horse,  1 
yoke  of  oxen,  1  cow  and  one  hog.  The  two  families  numbered 
in  all  19  persons,  10  in  Smith's  family,  and  9  in  French's.  In 
Smith's  family  2  were  over  and  8  under  IG.  French  had  7 
under  16  years  old. 

In  17G5,  the  only  persons  in  town  Avere  the  families  of  Smith 
and  French.  They  were  both  taxed.  In  17GG,  Smith  was  in 
town  and  taxed  the  same  as  in  1765,  but  French's  nanie  disap- 
pears from  the  tax  lists,  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  sold  out  and 
left  the  town.  Thus  the  population  of  the  town  was,  in  1766, 
reduced  to  the  one  family  of  Abner  Smith.  And  as  Smith  in  a 
few  years  removed  from  the  town,  and  left  no  descendants  here 
to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  their  father,  the  tradition  sprung  up 
and  has  prevailed,  that  there  were  no  permanent  settlements 
within  the  limits  of  Westhampton  before  1767. 

In  1767,  there  were  only  three  families  in  the  town,  viz.,  that 
of  Abner  Smith,  Timothy  Pomeroy  and  Noah  Strong,  Jr.  Tim- 
othy Pomeroy  came  from  Southampton  and  purchased  the  plan- 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.  13 

tation  began  by  French.  lie  soon  opened  a  tavern,  Avhicli  was 
greatly  patronized  bj'  the  hands  working  at  the  lead  mine. 

Old  Nathaniel  Strong,  of  Northampton,  owned  a  large  tract  of 
land  situate  between  the  Shirkshire  or  Norwich  road  and  the 
northerly  line  of  Southampton,  and  embracing  the  spot  now 
occupied  by  "Wm.  J.  Lj-man.  This  land  had  a  great  orchard  of 
sugar  maples  on  it,  and  his  boj's  came  out  here  to  make  maple 
sugar  in  the  spring.  They  brought  their  supplies  with  them, 
on  horseback,  erected  in  the  woods  a  tent  on  poles,  covered  it 
with  brush,  and  spent  two  or  three  weeks  in  the  encampment 
making  maple  sugar.  In  this  way,  the  land  was  explored,  and 
his  gi'andson,  Noah  Strong,  Jr.,  was  induced  to  commence  a 
plantation  near  the  orchard.  In  1767,  he  put  up  a  log  house 
on  the  westerly  side  of  the  Southampton  road,  about  half  way 
between  the  present  residence  of  AVm.  J.  Lyman  and  the  road 
leading  to  Norwich  or  Huntington.  His  family  consisted  of 
his  wife  and  two  children.  Very  late  in  the  fall,  or  early  in 
December  of  the  same  j'ear,  his  third  child  was  born,  whom  he 
named  Lemuel. 

This  was  the  first  birth  in  the  town  of  "\Yesthampton,  and  it 
took  place  under  somewhat  peculiar  cicumstances  as  they  were 
related  by  Eev.  E.  Hale,  and  others.  In  the  small  country 
towns,  before  the  j'ear  1794,  the  service  of  a  phj'siciau  was  not 
often  emploj^ed  at  the  birth  of  a  child.  This  matter  was  left 
almost  wholly  to  the  care  and  skill  of  midwives.  But  the  near- 
est midwife  to  Noah  Strong  was  one  who  lived  in  Northampton 
village,  and  old  Mrs.  Burt,  who  lived  in  Southampton,  four  or 
five  miles  distant.  One  had  been  engaged  to  be  present  at  the 
approaching  birth.  But  the  birth  took  place  in  the  winter  time^ 
and  there  had  been  a  verj-  severe  snow  storm,  which  filled  to 
overflowing  all  the  footpaths  and  b^'-ways  leading  to  and  from 
Noah  Strong's  house.  His  only  neighbors  were  some  distance 
off:  Smith  on  the  west  side,  and  French's  family  more  than  a^ 
mile  to  the  eastward.  The  storm  made  anj-  communication  with 
his  neighbors  or  the  midwife  verj'  difficult  if  not  impossible.  A 
messenger  had  been  sent  through  the  woods  for  the  midwife  ; 
but  she  did  not  come  by  reason  of  the  deep  snow.  "Word  was 
sent  to  the  neighboring  fam'ilies  for  aid.  But  the  snow  was  deep 
and  some  time  must  elapse  before  any  of  the  neighbors  could 
get  there.  And  some  time  after  the  child  was  born,  in  steps  the 
midwife,  with  a  hood  over  her  head,  and  a  tunic  about  her  chest, 
having  traveled  several  miles  in  snow  shoes,  without  any  path, 
and  guided  only  bj^  the  blaze  cut  upon  the  trees. 

In  17G5,  Samuel  Kingsley,  of  Southampton,  deeded  to  his  son 
Samuel  40  acres,  and  to  his  son  Joseph  50  acres,  in  Long  Divis- 
ion on  Shirkshire%'oad. 

In  1768,  William  Bartlett  moved  his  family  into  town,  and 


14  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

settled  upon  the  same  spot,  or  near  the  residence  of  Jared  Bart- 
lett ;  and  in  the  same  j'ear,  Samuel  Kingsley,  Jr.,  began  to  build 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Norwich  road,  very  near  the  house 
where  he  lived  so  many  years.  Bartlett  was  a  man  of  consid- 
erable means,  for  his  estate  was  taxed  at  £G2  18s.  in  17G8.  He 
brought  sheep  with  him,  as  well  as  other  animals,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  have  first  introduced  sheep  into  town. 

Martin  Clark  and  John  Smith  moved  into  town  in  17G9. 
Clark  first  built  upon  the  north  side  of  the  Norwich  road,  nearly 
opposite  the  new  house  of  Mr.  Ludden.  Soon  after  this,  he 
built  another  house  on  the  south  side,  where  he  died  after  a  life 
of  great  usefulness  and  labor. 

John  Smith,  the  brother  of  Abner,  came  from  Chester  with  a 
large  family.  He  lived  in  several  places,  once  on  the  spot  after- 
wards occupied  by  Levi  Post ;  there  he  built  the  house  in  which 
Enoch  Lj'man  used  to  live.  In  this  jear  sheep  first  appear  upon 
the  tax  list,  23  in  all,  and  owned  as  follows  :  14  b}^  Bartlett,  4 
by  Pomcroy,  3  by  Clark,  and  2  by  Kingsley. 

Ten  more  persons  came  into  this  town  in  1770  ;  nine  of  them 
had  families,  making  sixteen  in  all.  There  were  Seth  Burk, 
Joseph  Kingslc}',  Jacob  and  Jonah  Mallorj',  James  Cowen,  Ezra 
Hicksou,  Simeon  Ward,  Ephraim  Sanford,  and  Joshua  Claflin. 

Seth  Burk  came  from  Goshen,  built  a  house  a  little  under  the 
hill,  and  sold  the  same  to  Elijah  Norton  in  1785,  when  he  moved 
to  Vermont.  This  house  is  now  standing.  Joseph  Kingsley 
settled  near  his  brother  Samuel.  The  Mallorys  and  Cowen  mar- 
ried the  sisters  of  Smith  and  built  near  them  on  the  Norwich 
road.  Jacob  JMallorj-  and  Cowen  soon  left  the  town ;  Joshua 
Claflin  built  on  the  place  at  Turkej'  Hills,  where  Capt.  Henry 
Hooker  lived  and  died.  Ezra  Ilickson  planted  on  the  east  road 
near  the  old  house  of  Justin  Edwards.  Simeon  Ward  built  near 
the  present  residence  of  Asa  Parsons.  Ephraim  Sandford  was 
the  first  person  to  build  on  the  road  to  Nortliampton  by  Roberts 
Meadow.  Sandford  built  on  the  Bridges  place,  be^^ond  Turkey 
Hill  school  house.  He  was  for  a  time  in  the  war,  but  finally 
sold  out  to  Zachariah  Curtis.  Several  new  families  moved  into 
the  place  in  1771  and  1772,  and  remained  here.  Jonathan  Eish- 
er,  who  was  the  father  of  Major  Fisher ;  Timothy  Thayer,  who 
built  the  old  Alvord  house  over  the  brook  where  William  Ed- 
wards now  lives  ;  John  Bullard,  who  located  in  the  place  owned 
by  Willard  Smith.  Gideon  Clark,  Jr.  built  on  the  farm  which 
he  occupied  for  so  many  years.  Nathaniel  Elliot  and  Ezekiel 
Snow  built  log  houses  down  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mines.  Jona- 
tlian  Wales  moved  his  family  into  town  in  1771,  though  he  be- 
guu  his  plantation  in  the  preceding  year.  Azariah  Lyman  was 
at  work  in  the  town  in  1771  ;  he  built,  in  1771,  the  two  story 
Jiouse  where  his  son,  Jesse  Lyman,  lives.     Ebenezer  Stearns  had 


WESTHAMPTON   REUNION.  15 

a  place  south-east  of  the  old  place,  formerl_y  occupied  by  Luke 
Phelps.  John  F.  Tucker  had  a  log  house  on  Nathaniel  Edwards' 
land,  east  of  Joel  Cook's  ;  his  wife  and  child  were  buried  in  Ed- 
wards' pasture.  John  Strong,  od,  first  built  near  Wm.  Bartlett, 
afterwards  moved  down  opposite  Gee's  house. 

On  the  tax  list  of  1771,  are  21  names,  having  23  1-2  polls  and 
8  houses,  and  they  owned  among  them  13  horses  over  3  years 
old,  10  1-2  yoke  of  oxen,  16  swine,  and  20  sheep  over  one  year 
old;  and  their  land' consisted  of  26  1-2  aci'es  mowing,  40  1-2 
acres  tillage,  and  28  1-2  acres  pasturing.  The  whole  valuation 
was  £259  18s.,  of  which  much  the  largest  estate  was  that  of 
Wm.  Bartlett,  valued  at  £62  14s. 

On  the  list  of  1772,  there  are  26  names  and  26  polls,  with  13 
houses  and  five  barns.  The  whole  valuation  was  £379  15s,  con- 
taining 174  1-2  acres  improved  land,  12  horses,  21  oxen,  22 
cows,  18  swine,  and  31  sheep.  The  six  largest  tax  payers  fol- 
lowed in  this  order : — Wm.  Bartlett,  Martin  Clark,  Samuel 
Kingsle}',  Timothy  Pomeroy,  John  Smith,  and  Xoah  Strong,  Jr. 
Bartlett  had  two  horses,  4  oxen,  4  cows,  6  swine,  15  sheep.  All ' 
the  above  houses  were  undoubtedly  framed  buildings,  and  the 
others  lived  in  log  houses.  Two  persons  are  rated  as  having 
one-third  of  a  barn  each.  The  whole  tax  was  on  polls,  £5  12s, 
1  l-2d,  and  on  all  other  estate  £2  4s.,  3  l-2d,  making  a  total  of 
£7  16s.,  5d,  for  1772. 

The  poll  tax  was  then  upon  all  males  from  16  years  old  and 
upwards.  It  was  called  poll  tax  from  the  word  poll,  a  name  for 
the  head,  the  tax  being  so  much  on  a  head. 

A  great  work  was  performed  in  AVesthampton  about  this  time 
in  connection  with  the  lead  mines.  Aboutten  years  before  the  rev- 
olutionary' war,  the  noted  Ethan  Allen  and  a  few  other  persons 
came  to  the  mines,  purchased  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  vicinity, 
and  began  an  excavation  for  lead.  After  sinking  some  thousands 
of  dollars,  they  sold  out  to  Wm.  Bowdoin,  brother  of  Governor 
Bowdoin,  and  others.  These  took  hold  of  the  work  in  great 
earnest,  and  emploj'ed  manj'  hands.  Thej  were  led  on  by  the 
common  opinion  that  there  was  silver  as  well  as  lead  in  the  mine. 
They  excavated  to  the  depth  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet  into  the 
rock,  and  to  remove  the  water  which  flowed  into  the  pit,  they  put 
in  a  pump  which  was  kept  in  motion  by  a  stream  of  water 
brouffht  more  than  two  miles  from  Sodom  brook,  in  the  south- 
erly  part  of  the  town.  From  this  brook,  the  water  was  carried 
into  a  swamp  a  little  south  of  the  former  residence  of  S3lvester 
Judd,  senior ;  it  then  followed  the  course  of  a  small  stream, 
which  issued  from  the  easterly  part  of  this  swamp,  and  then  a 
trench  more  than  a  mile  long  was  dug  to  the  mine.  This  trench 
could  be  seen  in  some  places  down  to  a  late  period  of  time. 
This  Ethan  Allen  was  very  profane  and  noisy.     He  neither  feared 


16  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

God  nor  man.  At  one  of  his  visits  to  the  mine,  Eev.  Jonathan 
Jndd  of  Southampton,  gently  rebuked  him  for  his  profanity. 
Allen  attempted  to  excuse  himself  on  the  ground  of  the  badness 
of  human  nature  ;  the  minister's  answer  is  not  given,  but  Ethan 
was  much  affected  by  it,  and  he  was  not  heard  to  swear  for  sev- 
eral days. 

The  popidation  increased  rapidly  from  1772  to  the  incoi"pora- 
tion  of  the  town  in  1778.  The  land  was  cheap,  and  the  soil 
proved  much  better  than  had  been  reported.  The  people  worked 
upon  the  roads  from  year  to  year,  and  the  north  and  south  parts 
of  the  toAvn  began  to  meet  together.  The  town  of  Northamp- 
ton voted  1767  to  build  a  bridge  over  the  Manhan,  at  King's 
saw  mill,  and  in  the  next  year,  it  voted  to  build  a  bridge  over 
Sodom  brook.  This  was  the  first  bridge  made  in  the  town  of 
Northampton.  It  was  voted  to  build  a  bridge  beyond  Samuel 
Kingsley's  in  1771.  Little  neighborhoods  gradually  increased. 
Preaching  Avas  had  occasionally  and  schools  were  opened.  Ev- 
erything invited  emigration. 

In  1773  came  Ephraim  Wright,  Ebenczer  French,  Levi  Post, 
Skelton  Felton,  Abiathcr  French,  Abner  Claflin.  In  1774  came 
Sylvester  Judd,  Reulwn  Wright,  Rufns  Lyman,  Timothy  and 
Asa  Thayer,  Elihu  Chilson,  John  Baker,  Nathan  Clark,  Jona- 
than Clark,  Oliver  Post.  In  1775  there  Avere  fort3q:)ersons  taxed 
for  46  polls.  And  the  new  comers  were  Thomas  Elwell,  Joel 
Bartlett,  Jonathan  Frost,  Ebenczer  Clark,  Epaphras  Clark,  John 
and  David  Parsons,  Timothy  Phelps,  Timothy  Edwards,  Wil- 
liam At.water,  Daniel  Winter. 

There  were  48  polls,  32  houses,  and  18  barns,  in  1776.  In 
1777  and  1778  the  ncAV  settlers  Avere  Peter  Montague,  Noah  and 
Timothj'  EdAvards,  Elijah  Boyden,  Noah  Parsons,  Joseph  Chil- 
son, Jonathan  Alvord,  Sr.  and  Jr.,  Jehiel  Alvord,  John  Fisher, 
Zachariah  Curtis,  Oliver  Waters,  Elijah  Tyler,  Nathaniel  Rogers. 

In  1778,  there  were  about  60  families  in  Long  Division,  con- 
taining between  60  and  70  polls  ;  and  the  Avhole  population,  in 
the  latter  part  of  this  year,  was  not  far  from  300  souls.  Now 
the}^  feel  able  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  toAAai,  and  they  begin 
•measures  to  be  incorporated.  A  petition  signed  b}^  37  persons 
was  presented  to  the  toAA-n  meeting  in  March,  1778,  praying  that 
"4  miles  of  the  west  end  of  Long  Division  shall  be  set  off  into 
a  toAvn  or  district,"  and  for  their  proportion  of  the  real  and 
personal  estate  in  the  hands  of  the  town.  The  town  A^oted  their 
consent  to  the  separation  of  the  four  miles  asked  for,  and 
that  the  inhabitants  thereof  Avere  entitled  to  £137  15s.  of  the 
town's  funds  ;  and  in  part  payment  thereof  voted  to  the  pro- 
posed toAA^n  a  lot  of  land  containing  107  acres. 

At  the  next  session  of  the  General  Court,  the  inhabitants  of 
Long  Division  petitioned  this  body  to  be  incorporated  into  a 


WESTHAMPTON   RErXION.  17 

separate  town,  stating  "  that  your  petitioners  being  now  in- 
creased to  a  considerable  number,  are  of  the  opinion  that  we 
can  support  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  among  ourselves."  An 
act  of  incorporation  was  passed  on  29th  of  Septeml^er  1778, 
whereby  the  westerly  part  of  the  said  town  of  Northampton, 
separated  b}'  a  line  four  miles  eastward  from  the  west  line  of 
said  town  of  Northampton,  and  parallel  thereto,  be  incorporated 
into  a  separate  town  by  the  name  of  Westhampton. 

At  the  March  meeting  of  the  town  of  Northampton  in  1772, 
the  inhabitants  of  Long  Division  petitioned  the  town  to  paj- 
back  to  them  their  minister  and  school  rates  in  order  to  pay  for 
preaching.  The  request  was  granted,  provided  the  monej'  was 
spent  for  preaching  ;  and  in  August,  1773,  the  town  "  being  sat- 
isfied that  the  people  of  Long  Di\ision  has  spent  £7  16s  for 
preaching,  gave  Samuel  Kingsley  an  order  on  the  town  treasurer 
for  that  sum.  In  December,  1773,  the  town  voted  £8  to  the  4 
miles  of  Long  Division  for  preaching,  provided  they  use  it  for 
that  purpose;  and  in  November,  1774,  the  town  voted  £9  to 
Long  Division  for  preaching  and  schooling.  November,  1777, 
the  town  voted  £15  to  Long  Division,  for  preaching. 

For  some  years  after  the  settlement  of  the  town,  the  men  from 
Northampton  went  to  meeting  in  Northampton  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  the  Southampton  men  to  Southampton.  The  first  preaching 
in  Westhampton  was  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1772, 
Noah  Cook  of  Hadley  was  hired  for  a  few  Sundays  ;  he  was  the 
first  one  who  preached  in  the  town.  The  meetings  were  held  in 
the  houses  of  Samuel  Kingsley  and  Timothj^  Thayer :  first  at 
Ivingsle3-'s,  then  at  Thayer's.  Thayer  lived  over  the  brook  near 
the  house  of  Wm.  Edwards,  and  to  accommodate  some  of  the  foot 
people,  some  logs  were  placed  across  the  stream.  But  some- 
times both  girls  and  boj's  waded  through  the  water.  Mr.  Cook 
"was  a  lame  man  and  w\alked  with  crutches,  so  that  some  persons 
used  to  call  him  the  three  legged  minister.  Next  winter  one 
Mr.  Gould  preached  two  or  three  times.  Li  the  winter  of  1773- 
4  Mr.  Hooker,  coming  from  Northampton,  held  service  and  bap- 
tised three  children,  whose  names  were  Noah  Kingsley,  Justice 
Burk  and  Rebecca  Fisher.  These  are  supposed  to  be  the  first 
baptisms  in  the  town  of  Westhampton.  There  was  preaching 
in  the  Northerly  part  of  the  town,  in  1774  or  5,  at  the  house  of 
Jonathan  Wales,  by  a  Mr.  Taft,  the  brother  of  Mrs.  "Wales. 
Taft  was  a  zealous  Whig,  went  about  talking  politics  during  the 
week,  and  on  the  Sabbath,  praj-ed  and  preached  about  liliert}'. 
He  refused  entirely  to  drink  an}'  tea  and  urged  others  to  do  the 
same.  He  said  tea  was  the  blood  of  the  couutr}',  and  those 
who  drank  it  drank  up  the  life  blood  of  the  land.  It  was  whilst 
Taft  was  preaching  that  Mr.  Wales'  son  Nathaniel  was  born. 
His  mother,  it  is  said,  who  as  well  as  her  father  were  of  the 


18  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

Baptist  sentiments,  educated  this  son  for  a  Baptist  preacher. 
But  the  boy  supposed  he  was  wiser  than  his  good  mother,  and 
when  grown  up  adopted  the  opposite  sentiments.  Rev.  Mr. 
Hooker  of  Northampton  and  Rev.  J.  Judd,  of  Southampton  oc- 
casionally came  and  had  lectures  on  the  week  days,  in  the  town. 
As  the  population  in  the  part  of  the  town  increased,  the  arrange- 
ment was  made  to  hold  the  meetings  alternatel}'  in  tlie  barns  of 
Samuel  or  Joseph  Kingslc}^,  and  Nathan  Clark.  A  Mr.  Hotch- 
kiss  preached  a  few  times  in  Westhampton  and  Norwich,  John 
Elliot  preached  4  Sabbaths  in  the  spring  of  1778;  Jonathan 
Smith  of  Iladley,  and  David  Parsons  of  Amherst  preached  here 
in  the  same  year.  An  old  man  called  Father  Saxton,  who  lived 
in  a  log  house  near  the  old  house  of  Solomon  Judd,  preached  all 
one  summer  in  1776  or  7.  This  Sexton  was  called  very  dull ; 
but  Elliott  was  a  rousing  man  in  the  desk. 

At  the  first  meeting  after  the  incorporation  of  the  town,  held 
the  19th  of  November,  1778,  the  town  voted  to  hire  Mr.  Ilale 
to  preach  four  Sabbaths.  March  8,  1779,  the  town  hired  Mr. 
Hale  to  preach  two  months  longer.  In  August,  1779,  the  town 
voted  to  give  Mr.  Hale  a  call  to  settle  in  the  ministry,  and  it 
was  voted  "  to  give  him  for  settlement  a  lot  of  land  in  the  North- 
west part  of  the  town,  also  fifteen  acres  of  land  taken  from  Na- 
than Clark's  land,  and  five  acres  taken  from  Elihu  Chilson's 
homestead,  and  that  we  will  clear  three  acres  of  the  land  some 
time  in  1780,  three  more  in  1781,  and  four  more  in  1782,  and 
we  will  build  the  said  Mr.  Hale  a  house  thirty-two  feet  long  and 
thirt}^  feet  wide,  with  a  convenient  shed  to  the  same,  said  house 
to  be  built — the  outside  with  one  room  upon  the  lower  floor,  to 
be  completely-  finished  some  time  in  1780,  the  rest  of  the  lower 
part  to  be  finished  by  April  1st,  1783,  or  if  the  said  Mr.  Hale 
shall  choose,  we  will  pay  him  what  such  a  house  so  finished 
shall  cost,  by  the  1st  of  April,  1783,  and  that  we  will  give  Mr. 
Hale  for  salary  the  first  year  of  his  ministry  fort}-  pounds,  equal 
to  wheat  at  four  shillings  per  bushel,  rye  at  three  shillings  per 
bushel,  Indian  corn  two  shillings  per  bushel  (except  in  a  j-ear 
of  extraordinary  scarcity  to  be  higher  and  in  a  year  of  extraor- 
dinary plenty  to  be  lower)  and  said  salarj^  to  rise  three  pounds 
per  year,  at  the  above  mentioned  value,  until  said  salary  should 
rise  to  seventy  pounds  per  year,  and  then  seventy  pounds  to  be 
continued  yearly,  and  that  Ave  will  give  Mr.  Hale  his  fire  wood 
yearly  after  the  first  six  years  of  his  ministr}-,  and,  lastl}- ,  if  what 
we  now  offer  should  ])e  found  insufficient,  we  Avill  make  such 
further  addition  as  his  necessity  shall  require  and  our  ability 
will  admit  of."  To  their  proposal  for  a  settlement,  Mr.  Hale, 
under  date  of  August  11th,  1779,  returned  a  short  note  to  the 
town,  stating  that  he  wished  more  time  to  give  them  a  full  an- 
SAver,  and  "that  as  matters  appear  to  me  at  present  I  shall  think 


"WESTHAMrXON    KEUNION.  19 

it  my  duty  to  accept  3'our  invitation  if  things  continue  to  l)ear 
favorable  aspect  for  it."  And  August  18th,  1779,  he  sent  a 
full  answer  to  the  town  in  the  following  words  : 

"  To  the  People  of  Wesfhampton,  Gentlemen  and  Friends: 

The  message  contained  in  your  call  and  petition  to  me  I  have  deliberately  con- 
sidered. To  Ivnow  my  duty  on  this  important  occasion  has  much  engaged  my  mind. 
I  have  earnestly  looked  to  the  God  of  all  wisdom  to  give  me  Divine  direction,  and 
as  his  providence  has  given  me  opportunity,  I  have  asked  the  advice  of  my  friends 
and  those  whose  judgment  and  experience  I  respect,  to  assist  me  in  determining. 
The  language  of  providence  and  my  duty  towards  you,  the  active  and  persevering 
zeal  which  you  have  shown  to  enjoy  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  the  serious  counte- 
nance which  I  have  with  pleasure  observed  in  j-our  religious  assemblies,  and  the 
attention  which  has  been'given  to  my  discourses  invite  me  to  engage  my  faithful 
endeavors  to  serve  you  with  the  encouraging  hope,  that  my  labors  may  be  owned 
by  the  blessing  of  God  for  your  spiritual  welfare. 

The  agreement  of  the  town  to  desire  me  to  settle  with  you  in  the  ministry  of  the 
gospel,  as  it  is  signified  by  the  petition  you  have  signed,  is  more  general  than  I  ex- 
pected from  what  knowledge  I  had  of  your  circumstances,  and  although  it  is  not 
so  universal  as  may  be  desired  in  proceedings  of  this  nature,  j'et  considering  your 
situation  I  think  it  my  duty,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  understand  the  voice  of  provi- 
dence, to  comply  with  your  request.  This  determination  I  am  sensible  will  be  un- 
welcome to  some  whom  I  have  a  hearty  desire  to  please  and  oblige ;  these  1  earn- 
estly entreat  to  consider  my  unhappy  situation,  which  put  a  necessity  upon  me  of 
acting  unfavorably  to  them,  to  prevent  my  giving  disappointment  and  uneasiness 
to  a  larger  number.  My  complying  with  the  mere  general  call  I  would  hope  may 
not  be  interpreted  as  manifesting  disrespect  or  unkindness  of  disposition  to  any 
individuals,  but  as  expressive  of  a  hearty  willingness  and  desire  to  serve  and  oblige 
the  whole.  I  well  know  there  are  many  difiBculties,  especially  at  the  present  day, 
which  attend  your  infant  state.  These  lam  willing,  and, if  I  settle  in  the  ministry 
here,  shall  expect  to  share  with  you,  and  it  is  my  hearty  desire  that  you  should  be 
as  little  burdened  as  possible  for  my  support,  and  provide  only,  as  I  am  satisfied 
you  are  willing  to  do,  such  a  comfortable  living  as  the  Gospel  requires  for  its  min- 
istry. To  calculate  exactly  what  my  future  wants  will  be  is  impossible,  but  I  hope 
never  to  be  under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  asking  for  more  than  you  have  en- 
gaged to  do  for  me,  which  fully  answers  my  present  desire. 

I  am  even  willing  and  in  acknowledgment  of  your  generosity  in  your  present  dif- 
ficult circumstances,  do  freely  consent  that  five  j)ounds  be  abated  from  the  height 
to  which  you  offered  that  the  salary  should  rise.  Accordingly,  instead  of  seventy 
pounds,  I  will,  if  you  shall  choose,  consider  sixty-five  to  be  the  extent  of  my  yearly 
salary,  even  if  I  should  continue  with  you  more  than  ten  years,  trusting  only  as 
you  have  proposed  that  if  this  shall  be  found  insuflacient,  you  will  make  such  addi- 
tion to  it  as  my  necessities  shall  require,  and  your  ability  will  admit.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years,  I  have  had  it  in  my  mind,  if  Providence  should  open  the  door,  to  enter 
into  the  work  of  the  Gospel  Ministry.  And  it  has  been  my  study  to  qualify  ni3self 
if  possible,  in  some  measure  for  it;  but  after  all  to  think  of  the  dignity  and  impor- 
tance of  the  office  of  a  minister  of  Christ,  the  greatness  of  the  work,  and  the  con- 
cern and  difficulty  that  must  attend  the  faithful  discharge  of  so  important  a  trust, 
affects  me  with  a  very  deep  sense  of  my  own  insufficiency  for  these  things,  but  it  is 
a  comfort  to  remember  that  He  who  has  committed  this  treasure  to  earthen  vessels, 
that  the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God,  is  able  abundantly  to  support 
them  in  all  their  labor  and  trials,  trusting  in  his  wisdom  and  strength,  and  expect- 
ing likewise  your  kind  assistance  and  prayers,  I  am  persuaded  to  engage  with  the 
leave  of  Providence,  to  serve  you  in  the  dispensation  of  the  Gospel,  humbly  pray- 
ing that  God's  name  may  be  glorified  in  blessing  you  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ.  ^ 

I  am  yours  to  s^e  in  the  Lord,  Exoch  Hale. 

Westhampton,  August  18,  1779. 

The  town  voted  that  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Hale  should  take 
place  the  20th  of  September,  1779.     But  an  ordination  was  no 
common  event,  and  it  was  not  easy  to  find  a  place  in  which  the 
2 


20 


WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 


exercises  could  be  conveniently  performed.  A  barn  all  covered 
except  the  east  end,  stood  on  the  Norwich  road,  a  little  easterly, 
of  Jesse  Lyman's  house.  It  was  decided  to  fit  this  building  up 
for  the  occasion.  At  the  east  side  of  the  barn  a  scaflbld  of 
boards  was  raised  over  the  cattle  stalls  ;  and  upon  this  platform 
the  clergymen  sat,  and  all  the  parts  of  the  ordination  were  per- 
formed, facing  outwardly  upon  the  open  air.  Rev.  Joseph  Hun- 
tington preached  the  ordination  sermon.  The  occasion  called 
together  a  crowd  of  people,  who  disposed  of  themselves  as  best 
they  might,  inside  of  the  bam  and  upon  the  ground  around  the 
easterly  end  of  the  barn  ;  some  sitting  on  rough  boards,  some 
standnig,  but  all  intensely  watching  the  various  parts  perform- 
ing upon  the  scaffold. 

On  21st  of  May,  1779,  the  town  having  selected  a  spot,  voted 
to  build  a  meeting  house  thereon,  and  steps  were  taken  to  pro- 
cure the  necessary  materials.     The  house  was  to    be  fifty  feet 
long  and  forty  feet  in  breadth.     But  soon  a  disagre  ement  arose 
betweeji  the  two  parts  of  the  town  as  to  the  place  where   the 
meeting  house  should  stand.     The  South  part,  being  first  settled, 
was  the  most  populous,  and  srtonger  than  the  North  portion,  and 
tried  to  convey  tlie  meeting  house  as  far  south  as  possible.     This 
was  resisted  by  the  North  with  great  zeal  and  violence.     One 
party  proposed  to  place  the  church  near  Babeock's  corner,  on 
the  old  Norwich  road,  while  the  other  side  claimed  that  the  little 
square  in  front  of  Nathan  Clark's  house  was  the  best  place. 
The  struggle  grew  warmer  and  warmer,  and  became  almost  furi- 
ous.    The  South  carried  a  vote  in  their  favor,  and  thereupon  the 
North,  to  meet  this  action  of  the  South,  proposed  to  have  the 
town  divided  into  two  equal  parts,  by  a  line  running  from  east 
to  west  in  the  middle  of  the  town,  or  running  the  dividing  line 
in  such  a  place  as  to  leave  one  part  of  the  town  four  miles  square 
and  the  remainder  to  be  two  miles  long  and  four  miles  wide.     In 
order  to  harmonize  the  contending  parties,  soon  after  Mr.  Hale's 
house  was  covered,  it  was  agreed  to  hold  the  meetings  in  his 
house.     This  was  done  for  a  few  Sabbaths,  in  the  second  story. 
This  story  was  unfinished,  leaving  all  the  chamber  room  one  un- 
divided and  unbroken  hall.     A  rough  box  about  four  feet  square 
was  placed  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  room  ;  a  block  sawed 
ofl:'  from  a  large  trunk  of  a  tree,  w\as  placed  upon  this  box— and 
this  was  the  pulpit.     The  garret  floor  had  not  been  laid,  some 
boards  were  placed  across  the  beams,  where  the  floor  ought  to  go  ; 
here  the  singers  sat  and  sung.     At  first  the  only  way  to  this 
platform  was  a  ladder  ;  but  the  womM  made  objections  to  climb- 
nig  up  the  ladder  in  so  public  a  place,  and  thereupon  a  kind  of 
box  was  built  up  around  the  ladder.     This  arrangement  did  not 
last  long,  for  the  North  had  to  travel  about  four  miles,  and  the 
South  only  two  miles  to  church,  and  at  the  next  town  meeting 
the  preaching  was  restored  to  Nathan  Clark's  barn. 


WESTHAMPTOX     REUNION.  21 

Year  after  year  the  controversy  went  on,  but  no  point  could 
be  agreed  upon.  Some  proposed  the  centre  of  the  town,  but 
this  centre  would  fall  upon  the  westerly  side  of  Tob  Hill,  near 
its  top.  At  length  a  committee  of  grave  men,  consisting  of  Col. 
Chapin  of  Hatfield,  Deacon  White  of  Springfield,  and  Deacon 
"White  of  Whately,  was  authorized  to  select  a  spot.  They  re- 
ported November  8th,  1783,  a  place  for  the  church,  which  was 
accepted  by  the  town.  As  usual,  both  parties  finally  repudiated 
this  spot  last  mentioned.  The  timber  had  been  provided,  and 
the  tradition  is,  that  the  frame  of  the  meeting  house  passed  back- 
wards and  forwards,  by  Mr.  Hale's  house,  three  times.  Finally 
the  town  came  back  to  its  first  love,  and  in  December,  1784,  af- 
ter five  years  of  strife,  it  was  voted  to  put  the  house  a  little  west 
of  the  spot  last  agreed  upon  before  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Plale. 
In  the  next  year,  June  10th,  1785,  the  frame  was  erected,  and 
meetings  began  to  be  held  in  it  in  1786,  though  it  was  not  com- 
pleted for  four  years  afterwards. 

To  Mr.  Hale  we  are  all  deeply  indebted  for  the  end  of  this 
strife,  which  came  very  near  breaking  the  town  into  two  or  more 
fragments.  He  did  all  he  could  to  heal  the  troubled  waters. 
And  no  man  was  better  able  to  do  this  than  he  ;  so  cool,  calm, 
moderate  and  conciliating  in  all  his  movements,  he  held  the 
peace  offering  to  both  sides.  And  to  this  noble  man  must  be  the 
chief  praise  in  finally  settling  the  commotion  so  harmonioush'. 

Now  the  meeting  house  is  built,  let  us  stop  -a  moment  and  look 
at  it  with  its  surroundings.  The  place  selected  for  it  was  the 
wild  woods,  the  px'imeval  trees  of  the  forest  had  to  be  cut  down 
to  make  room  for  it.  There  was  no  road  to  it,  or  from  it,  only 
a  horse  track  passed  b}'  it  in  going  from  Nathan  Clark's  over  to 
the  south  part  of  the  town.  There  was  not  a  habitation  near  it, 
save  the  log  hut  of  Samuel  Hering,  and  then  came  the  house  of 
Mr.  Hale.  But  this  wild  spot  was  as  near  the  centre  of  the 
town  as  the  building  could  be  conveniently  put,  and  here  finally 
all  parties  met  in  peace  and  love.  The  building  was  a  plain, 
bunk-looking  two  story  structure,  with  its  length  running  north 
to  south,  and  facing  the  east.  It  had  neither  bell  nor  steeple. 
The  pulpit,  with  the  sounding  board  over  it,  was  on  the  west 
side,  'and  there  was  an  entrance  into  it  from  each  of  the  other 
three  sides,  covered  with  porches.  It  had  the  high  square  box 
pews,  with  squeaking  balusters  on  the  lower  floor,  and  there 
were  the  same  kind  of  pews  in  the  gallery  next  to  the  wall, 
raised  up  a  foot  oi*  more  above  the  aisle  or  pathway.  The  rest 
of  the  gallery  consisted  of  two  long  narrow  slips,  extending 
round  from  the  wall  on  the  south  side  of  the  pulpit,  to  the  wall 
on  the  north  side.  The  old  folks  sat  below,  the  children  went 
into  the  gallery,  the  boys  on  one  side  b}^  themselves,  and  the 
girls  on  the  other  side.     How  changed  the  scene  now,  and  as  we 


22  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

look  upon  this  pleasant  edifice,  and  behold  from  the  windows  a 
landscape  worthy  of  the  most  skilful  painter,  how  difficult  for 
the  imagination  to  conceive  the  rough  wilderness  of  olden  time. 

After  the  incorporation  of  the  town,  down  to  the  end  of  the 
century,  the  growth  of  the  town  was  rapid,  and  its  good  name 
was  sounded  abroad.  During  this  time  several  new  families 
moved  into  it.  Among  these  were  Dr.  Hooker,  Jared  Hunt,  Dea- 
con Samuel  Edwards,  Capt.  Noah  Cook,  Mr.  Chapman,  Elijah 
Norton — Clapps,  Rusts,  Burts,  Caleb  Loud.  These  all  became 
industrious  and  influential  citizens  of  the  toAvn,  and  contributed 
largely'  to  strengthen,  confirm  and  continue  the  noble  institu- 
tions established  by  their  predecessors. 

In  the  Revolutionary  war  our  forefathers  entered  into  the  con- 
test against  the  mother  country  with  great  ardor  ;  none  did  better 
than  they,  none  contributed  more  liberally  of  their  means  and 
blood  ;  well  may  we  be  proud  of  their  eftbrts,  and  it  is  a  duty  we 
owe  to  them  to  cherish  a  lively  remembrance  of  their  sacrifices. 

The  last  French  war  was  concluded  in  1762  ;  after  that  time 
the  military  spirit  abated,  and  from  the  close  of  the  French  war 
down  to  1773  there  were  no  trainings,  and  the  militia  became 
disorganized  all  through  the  countr}'.  In  1773,  Gov.  Hutchinson 
commissioned  some  officers  for  the  western  part  of  the  state,  but 
the  people  would  not  train  under  them.  Training  bands  in  the 
colony  began  to  form  in  1774.  The  first  training  in  Westhamp- 
ton  was  in  the  fall  of  1774.  The  company,  some  thirty  or  forty 
strong,  paraded  in  the  door-j-ard  of  Dea.  Martin  Clark,  clothed 
in  their  ever3^-day  working  dress.  Some  of  the  men  had  guns, 
knapsacks,  accoutrements ;  others  had  guns  only,  and  a  few  no 
guns  at  all.  In  the  choice  of  officers,  William  Bartlett  was 
elected  captain,  Noah  Strong,  lieutenant,  and  Jonathan  Fisher, 
ensign.  The  company  had  a  small  drum  and  no  fifer  ;  but  we 
should  not  forget  this  day  of  small  things,  we  should  remember 
that  this  was  in  reality  a  volunteer  organization,  met  to  boldly 
prepare  for  the  trials  of  war.  In  1774,  the  first  company  of 
minute  men  was  formed  in  Northampton,  embracing  some  from 
Long  Division.  Capt.  Noah  Cook  of  Westhampton  was  a  mem- 
ber of  this  company,  then  living  in  Northampton,  News  of  the 
battle  of  Lexington  reached  Northampton  on  the  morning  of  the 
21st,  when  the  men  were  at  work  in  the  meadows.  Immediately 
the  bells  rung,  and  the  drums  beat  to  arms  through  the  streets. 
Cook  was  in  the  meadow  harrowing  in  oats.  At  once  he  left  his 
work  and  oats,  went  home  with  all  speed,  and*  put  on  his  equip- 
ments. Some  others  at  work  in  the  meadows  did  the  same,  and 
in  a  short  time  the  whole  company,  armed  and  equipped,  paraded 
before  the  meeting-house,  when  Rev.  Mr,  Hooker  made  a  stirring 
prayer,  and  Colonel  Seth  Pomeroy  encouraged  them  in  the  good 
cause.     The  same  afternoon,  on  foot  with  three  or  four  days' 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.  23 

rations,  they  started  for  Concord,  where  they  arrived  on  the  24th. 
Another  company  of  minute  men  was  formed  from  Southampton, 
Norwich  and  Westhampton.  Jonathan  "Wales,  Ebenezer  French, 
Jr.,  and  Ebenezer  Gee  marched  with  this  company  to  Concord 
soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington.  They  were  stationed  about 
Boston  several  months.  In  Sept.  1775  Gee,  while  stationed  at 
Dorchester,  enlisted  and  started,  with  Arnold's  expedition  into 
•Canada,  and  went  as  far  as  Dead  River.  In  February-,  1776, 
Noah  Cook  and  Abiather  French  marched  with  the  second  expe- 
dition to  Canada  by  way  of  Ticonderoga,  arrived  at  Quebec  in 
April,  where  they  took  the  small  pox,  with  no  doctor  or  medicine, 
except  butternut-bark  pills. 

At  Dorchester,  Ebenezer  French  enlisted  and  went  on  for  the 
defence  of  New  York.  In  Dec,  1776,  a  company  Avas  formed 
under  Jonathan  Wales,  captain,  and  Noah  Strong,  lieutenant. 
This  company  marched  to  Peekskill,  then  to  Morristown,  N.  J., 
where  Washington  had  his  headquarters.  From  Westhampton 
this  company  took  Seth  Burk,  Jonathan  Fisher,  Levi  Post, 
Timothy  Phelps,  Asa  Thayer  and  Sylvester  Judd.  Jonathan 
Fisher  died  at  Morristown,  and  was  buried  there.  He  was  a 
fair  looking,  well  built  man,  with  gentlemanly  manners.  He 
was  a  zealous  patriot,  and  did  much  to  aid  the  enlisting  of  sol- 
diers. Pie  was  brave,  courageous  and  a  true  soldier.  In  the 
call  to  reinforce  Gen.  Gates,  in  September,  1777,  eight  men  went 
to  his  arm}?  from  AYesthampton.  In  1780,  every  sixth  man  was 
called  for  from  Westhampton  to  fill  the  continental  arm3\  The 
General  Court  issued  the  call  June  5th,  and  the  men  started  off 
on  the  28th  of  the  same  month.  In  the  fall  of  1781,  a  company 
from  the  three  Hamptons  was  mustered  in  Westhampton,  and 
then  marched  to  Saratoga,  to  prevent  any  invasion  from  Canada, 
while  Washington  went  south,  after  Cornwallis. 

And  so  throughout  the  whole  contest,  the  people  responded 
promptly  to  every  call  for  men.  And  the  same  spirit  seemed  to 
animate  all.  There  were  no  laggards  or  skulks  in  this  town, 
and  though  the  calls  followed  each  other  very  frequently,  in  one 
instance  less  than  a  month  intervened,  j-et  I  do  not  find  that  the 
draft  had  to  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  procure  the  men.  There 
are  several  votes  in  the  town  records  about  procuring  blankets 
for  the  soldiers.  Orders  came  from  time  to  time  to  the  towns 
to  provide  supplies  for  the  army,  that  is,  so  many  pounds  of  beef, 
so  many  blankets,  shoes  and  stockings.  Committees  Mere  ap- 
pointed to  visit  every  house  :  they  decided  whether  the  house 
should  furnish  one,  two  or  more  blankets,  or  so  much  beef,  &c. 
The  owner  produced  them  forthwith,  and  took  his  pay  in  conti- 
nental paper.  Or  if  the  owner  preferred,  he  could  pay  so  much 
money,  and  save  his  bacon.  The  town  was  to  provide  each  sol- 
dier with  a  fire-arm  and  bayonet,  or  instead  of  bayonet,  a  toma- 


24  WESTIIAMPTON     REUNION. 

hawk  or  hatchet,  a  cartouch  box,  knapsack  and  blanket.  I  do 
not  find  any  trace  of  a  tory  in  the  town,  except  one  person  ;  and 
the  record  is  that  "  the  place  soon  became  too  hot  for  him  and 
he  left." 

The  Shays  rebellion,  which  broke  out  with  so  much  violence 
in  1786,  affected,  to  some  extent,  every  town  in  the  western  part 
of  the  state.  The  people  were. all  ready  for  ferment,  their  means 
had  been  spent  in  the  late  struggle  with  the  mother  country, 
many  of  them  were  deeply  in  debt,  and  had  no  ability  to  pay. 
And  the  soldiers,  W'ho  had  received  their  pay  in  government  cer- 
tificates, were  obliged  to  sell  them  at  a  ruinous  discount,  in  order 
to  procure  the  means  of  living.  In  October,  1782,  twenty-seven 
towns  in  Hampshire  County  sent  delegates  to  Hatfield,  to  con- 
sider the  present  burdens  and  grievances  ;  but  in  August,  178G, 
delegates  from  more  than  fifty  towns  in  Hampshire  County  as- 
sembled at  Hatfield,  and  proclaimed  open  defiance  to  the  gov- 
ernment. This  body  excited  a  riotous  spirit  everywhere.  Some 
of  the  towns  were  wholly  carried  away  by  the  Regulators,  as 
they  called  themselves  ;  and  government  men  were  wholly  re- 
moved from  all  posts  of  trust  and  honor ;  and  in  others,  a  large 
majority  of  the  people  openly  sympathised  with,  and  supported 
the  insurgents. 

But  I  do  not  find  that  any  one  from  Westhampton  took  a  part 
in  anj^  of  these  proceedings.  They  all  continued  loyal.  The 
mobbers  found  no  substantial  aid  or  sjanpathy  in  this  town. 
Capt.  Samuel  Kirkland,  of  Norwich,  was  an  active  opponent  of 
the  mobbers  and  regulators.  He  exerted  a  great  influence  in 
his  own  and  the  adjoining  towns.  The  Shays  party  was  highly 
incensed  at  him,  and  they  determined  to  shut  him  up.  A  party 
of  insurgents  surrounded  his  house  and  captured  him.  It  was 
determined  to  take  him  to  Northampton  for  safe  keeping.  But 
it  is  said  they  did  not  dare  take  Mr.  Kirkland  through  West- 
hampton, for  fear  of  a  rescue  by  its  loj'al  people. 

Many  persons  are  disposed  to  treat  the  Shays  rebellion  as  a 
light  matter,  but  it  was  a  verj'  serious  outbreak,  and  so  great 
w^as  the  discontent  and  mutterings  all  over  the  Commonwealth, 
that  nothing  but  good  leadership  was  lacking  to  the  success  of 
the  rebels. 

And  further :  to  the  Convention  which  met  at  Boston,  Janu- 
ary, 1788,  to  consider  the  new  Constitution  which  had  been 
formed  for  the  union  of  the  States,  this  town  sent,  as  its  dele- 
gate, Maj.  Aaron  Fisher.  This  body  had  a  stormy  session.  The 
new  Constitution  was  bitterly  and  violent]}^  opposed,  and  for  a 
long  time  it  was  fearful  it  would  be  rejected.  Many  of  the  small 
towns  were  hostile  to  it,  and  all  the  Shays  sympathisers  read  in  it 
their  destruction.  And  finall}^,  by  the  strenuous  exertions  of 
Gov.  Hancock,  then  in  the  zenith  of  his  popularity,  it  was  adop- 


WESTHAMPTOX    REUXION.  25 

ted  by  a  Tnajority  of  onh'  nineteen  votes.  As  long  as  lie  lived, 
Maj.  Fisher  enjoj-ed  the  prond  satisfaction  of  voting  in  the  af- 
firmative. And  now,  when  we  consider  that  this  instrnment  has 
borne  us  through  so  many  struggles  in  triumph,  we  point  with 
great  exultation  to  the  fact,  that  our  delegate  was  one  of  the 
nineteen  whose  vote  is  to  be  immortal. 

Coming  down  to  the  last  attempt  to  destro}'  this  same  Consti- 
tution, the  town  has  exhibited  marked  fidelity  to  the  great  char- 
ter of  government,  which  it  had  aided  in  establishing,  more  than 
seventy  years  before.  More  than  half  of  the  men  called  for 
were  furnished  from  our  own  townsmen,  and  whether  on  the 
march  or  in  battle,  they  proved  that  the  same  loyal  blood  had 
descended  from  sire  to  son. 

Our  ancestors  took  early  measures  to  provide  education  for 
their  children.  They  often  petitioned  the  town  to  allow  tlie  peo- 
ple of  Long  Division  something  for  schooling.  In  1776,  the 
town  "  voted  £9  for  preaching,  and  schooling  the  children  in 
the  summer  season."  Some  children  Avere  sent  to  North- 
ampton and  Southampton  for  schooling.  In  the  winter  of  1781- 
2,  the  people  of  the  south  part  raised  a  fund  b}'  private  contri- 
bution, and  opened  a  school.  This  is  said  to  be  the  first  school 
in  town.  They  employed  Deacon  vSamuel  Edwards  to  keep  the 
school,  in  part  of  the  house  of  Capt.  Azariah  Lyman.  This  was 
kept  about  three  months.  He  taught  reading,  Avriting,  arithme- 
tic and  spelling.  He  was  an  excellent  teacher,  and  was  engaged 
for  several  winters.  The  first  school  house  was  built  by  private 
individuals  in  1782,  near  Babcock's  corner. 

Mr.  Hale  took  much  interest  in  starting  the  schools,  and 
urged  the  town  to  make  suitable  provision  for  the  education  of 
the  youth.  He  encouraged  young  men  to  go  on  in  their  studies, 
he  assisted  them,  and  invited  them  to  come  to  his  house  for  in- 
struction, and  it  was  through  his  advice  that  so  many  young 
men,  in  the  earl}^  years  of  the  town,  fitted  themselves  to  enter 
college.  These  students  had  very  small  means  to  aid  them  in 
their  studies,  and  the  kind  assistance  of  their  pastor  saved  their 
funds  from  exhaustion,  and  quickened  their  zeal.  Rev.  Justin 
Edwards  pursued  his  preparator}'  studies  with  Mr.  Hale,  and  en- 
tered the  soyjhomore  class,  and  yet  his  whole  expenses  were  only 
$38. 

Williams  was  the  favorite  college  for  the  Westhampton  boj'S. 
Justin  Edwards  several  times  walked  to  and  from  Williamstown, 
a  distance  of  forty  miles.  But  the  early  collegians  used  to  ride 
to  and  from  college  on  horseback.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
term,  a  number  from  this  and  the  adjoining  towns  would  go  up 
together,  taking  one  person  along  with  them  on  a  spare  horse. 
The  latter  would  go  to  the  college  in  one  day,  pass  the  night, 
and,  on  the  following  day,  lead  back  the  horses  Avith  empty  sad- 


26  AVESTHAMPTON     RECNIOX. 

dies,  and  at  the  end  of  the  term,  some  one  would  hitch  together  as 
many  horses  as  there  were  students,  and  lead  them  to  Williams- 
town  for  the  boj's  to  ride  home  upon.  Mr.  Sylvester  Judd  made 
several  such  trips,  to  bring  home  his  brother  Hophni  and  others. 

The  first  settlers  of  AVesthampton  were  remarkal)le  men  ;  not 
great  in  renown,  or  ilhistrious  in  birth,  or  wonderful  in  deeds  ; 
but  they  were  true  hearted,  genuine  men.  The}"  were  plain  far- 
mers, distinguished  by  homely  virtues,  strong  common  sense, 
and  love  of  independence,  earnest,  zealous  piety,  and  great  for- 
wardness in  all  good  woi'ks.  Just  look  around  for  a  moment, 
and  see  what  they  had  to  do. 

When  Abner  Smith,  in  1762,  first  came  into  town,  this  part 
of  t!ie  township  was  a  wilderness,  covered  with  an  unbroken  for- 
est. In  every  direction  were  woods,  underbrush  and  mountain 
elevations.  No  habitation  was  to  be  seen,  no  pioneer  had  put 
up  his  log  abode,  the  woodman's  axe  was  not  heard,  and  the  en- 
tire region  was  as  silent  as  the  grave,  save  Avhen  interrupted  b}' 
the  sighing  of  the  wind,  or  the  gambol  of  wild  animals.  Even 
as  late  as  1800,  one  standing  upon  the  top  of  Tob,  or  Mineral 
Hill,  or  the  hill  near  Norton's  old  tavern,  which  at  this  day  open 
to  the  eye  such  beautiful  prospects,  and  scenes  of  surpassing 
loveliness,  looked  down  upon  hardl}^  a  mark  of  civilization,  save 
the  curling  smoke  above  the  tall  trees,  rising  from  a  few  scat- 
tered habitations,  And  there  Avere  just  the  same  Avildness  and 
boundless  forests,  stretching  over  the  northerly  portion  of  the 
town.  Old  Mrs.  Sibil  Bridgman,  wife  of  Elisha  Bridgman,  said 
she  could  see  nothing  but  woods  and  forests  from  her  husband's 
house,  on  Hanging  Mountain,  in  1786. 

Besides,  Long  Division  was  the  despised  part  of  tlie  old  plan- 
tation laid  out  in  165-1,  on  the  west  side  of  Connecticut  river;  it 
had  no  meadows  stretching  far  and  wide,  ocean-like  ;  it  had  no 
interval  land,  resting  in  the  bosom  of  the  mountains,  and  treas- 
uring up  the  riches  of  untold  ages  ;  and  it  had  no  rivers  to  open 
a  highway  for  enter[)rise  and  adventure.  For  a  long  time  after 
the  settlement  of  Northampton,  meadow  was  the  oul}-  land  Avhich 
had  more  than  nominal  A'alue ;  other  land  was  not  prized,  nor 
had  it  any  temptation  to  the  pioneer. 

Our  forefathers  were  not  rich  in  this  world's  goods  ;  they  were 
men  of  small  means,  and  the}'  could  bring  with  them  into  the 
woods  but  few  of  the  instruments  necessaiy  to  battle  the  forests. 

But  they  were  industrious  and  stout  hearted,  and  Avilling  to 
meet  dangers  and  difticulties  ;  they  Avere  the  real  genuine  Avork- 
ing  men  and  women.  They  rose  out  of  bed  with  the  birds  in 
the  morning,  and  began  their  toil  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough 
to  stir  about,  and  they  continued  to  toil  as  long  as  they  could 
see  ;  and,  in  the  winter  season,  long  after  darkness  had  covered 
the  earth.     There  Avere  no  ten  hour  men  in  the  days  of  our  fa- 


■\VESTHAMPTON     REUNIOX.  27 

tliers  ;  they  toiled  through  fourteen,  and  sometimes  sixteen  hours, 
of  the  twenty-four.  Think  3'ou  these  acres  of  woods  would 
have  been  leveled  to  the  ground,  these  miles  of  roads  been  made, 
and  these  farms  fenced  with  such  good  stone  walls,  and  brought 
into  such  good  cultivation,  if  our  ancestors  had  lived  according 
to  the  ten  hour  system,  so  called  ?  If  our  fathers  had  begun  to 
work  in  the  morning  at  seven  o'clock,  and  left  off  Avork  at  six  in 
the  afternoon,  think  you  that  to-day  "Westhampton  would  have 
been  anything  but  old  despised  Long  Division,  covered  over  with 
underbrush  and  rocks,  or  that  we  should  have  had  any  call  to 
celebrate  its  birthday  ? 

Their  dress  was  strong  but  simple.  Pantaloons  were  not 
known  in  this  part  of  the  state  eight}'  years  ago.  The  men,  both 
old  and  young,  wore  checkered  shirts  and  a  sort  of  brown  tow 
or  woolen  trousers,  or  short  breeches,  known  atthetime  as  kilts 
or  skilts  ;  these  only  reached  just  below  the  knees,  generally 
loose  and  open  at  the  bottom,  but  sometimes  fastened  with  a 
buckle.  They  had  no  braces  or  gallows,  but  were  buttoned  tight 
round  the  hips,  in  sailor  fashion.  Boots  were  rarely  seen  ;  the}- 
wore  shoes,  and  leggings  over  their  legs  in  winter,  but  all  the 
summer  and  fall  work  was  done,  at  home  and  in  the  meadows, 
by  them,  bare  legged  and  bare  footed.  The  head  was  covered 
with  a  cap  made  of  the  skin  of  some  wild  animal,  and  if  per- 
chance any  of  the  men  were  able  to  wear  a  felt  hat,  it  was  kept 
for  Sunday-go-to-meeting,  and  lasted  a  lifetime. 

Their  diet  was  very  simple,  but  it  was  heart}',  and  contained 
the  very  marrow  of  life.  Seventy  years  ago  bread  and  milk  were 
the  common  food  of  New  England  children  for  breakfast  and 
supper,  except  on  Saturda3's  and  Sundaj-s,  when  the}'  made  their 
supper  and  breakfast  of  hasty  pudding  and  milk  ;  but  at  times 
in  the  winter,  when  milk  was  scarce,  a  little  water  and  apple 
molasses  were  jjut  into  a  dish  of  cider  and  the  whole  warmed, 
then  toasted  bread  was  crumbed  into  it,  and  this  mixture  of 
bread  and  cider  constituted  the  meal ;  and  down  to  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  adults  and  children  made  their  morning  and  even- 
ing meals  of  this  same  bread  and  milk  or  bread  and  cider.  This 
was  good  eating.  The  Indian  bread  of  our  foremothers  bore  no 
resemblance  to  the  tasteless  stuff,  which  goes  by  that  name  to- 
day, and  it  was  far  more  nutritious  and  wholesome  than  the  sour, 
soggy  bread  streaked  with  saleratus,  which  is  brought  upon  the 
table  by  our  domestics.  The  dinner  was  the  great  meal  then  as 
now.  The  children  then  were  allowed  to  come  to  the  table. 
This  consisted  of  corned  beef  and  pork,  boiled  often  with  po- 
tatoes, turnips  and  cabbage,  commonly  called  pot-luck  ;  to  this 
was  added  once  a  week  a  boiled  Indian  pudding,  and  during  the 
most  laborious  periods  of  the  year,  they  made  their  suppers  of 
this  pot-luck,  brought  on  to  the  table  in  the  shape  of  cold  vict- 


28  -  WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.      . 

uals.  They  had  no  butcher  carts.  Water  or  cider  was  the  com- 
mon drink,  save  on  Sundays,  or  festive  occasions,  and  rarely  on 
washing  days,  when  a  little  bohea  tea  was  steeped  and  resteeped, 
so  long  as  it  would  color,  or  give  any  taste  to  the  water.  At  a 
much  later  day,  cider  brandy  or  pupelo  came  into  use. 

But  our  grandmothers,  and  their  loving  daughters,  too  !  I 
cannot  pass  them  by  in  silence.  They  contributed  too  largel}'^ 
to  the  success  of  the  young  town,  to  be  forgotton  oii  this  occas- 
ion. They  should  be  placed  in  the  foreground  of  our  memories. 
They  bore  their  full  share  of  the  toils  and  labors  of  pioneer  life. 
They  were  the  spinners,  weavers,  tailors,  nurses  and  doctors  of 
the  town ;  they  were  the  dairy  maids  and  cooks,  as  well  as  the 
friends,  sweethearts  and  housewives  of  our  fathers.  They  were 
really  the  helps  meet  for  their  husbands.  They  were  always  at 
work  ;  the  morning  began  Avith  the  work,  work,  work,  kept  on 
all  through  the  day,  and  late  into  the  night,  by  the  light  of  the 
pitch-pine  faggot.  They  brought  up  the  cows  from  the  pasture 
and  milked  them,  they  fed  the  calves,  nursed  the  sickl}^  lambs, 
fed  the  pigs,  raised  the  chickens  and  goslins,  and  took  care  of 
the  garden.  These,  however,  were  the  mere  daily  chores. 
They  raked  and  spread  hay,  they  pulled  and  spread  flax  ;  and 
in  one  of  the  neighboring  towns,  I  saw  a  woman  who  would  load 
and  unload  hay  faster  than  any  man  could  take  it  away.  They 
made  cheese  and  butter  ;  and  I  find,  in  Mr.  S.  Judd's  manuscript, 
an  instance  where  the  mother  and  daughter  did  all  the  cooking, 
washing  and  mending  for  twelve  laborers,  and  at  the  same  time 
took  care  of  the  milk  of  thirty  coavs.  Then,  again,  almost  all 
the  clothing  was  made  from  flax  and  wool  raised  in  the  family. 
And  I  need  not  stop  here  to  speak  of  their  skill  in  making  rye  and 
r3'e  and  Indian  bread,  Avhen  we  are  all  of  us  1)eginning  to  aban- 
don our  cream  of  tartar  biscuits  and  saleratus  bread,  made  out 
of  the  choicest  brand  of  tiie  Genesee  or  St.  Louis  flour,  and 
tr^'ing  to  substitute  in  the  place  thereof  the  sweet  nutritious  rye 
and  Indian  bread  of  our  grandmothers.  True  it  is  that  these 
good  old  dames  sometimes  of  a  Monday,  after  a  hard  day's 
Avork  at  washing,  would  sit  doAvn  and  sip  a  little  bohea  tea,  and 
that,  now  and  then,  several  Avomen  of  the  neighborhood  would 
get  together  and  talk  gossip  ;  but  here  no  time  was  lost,  for  the 
knitting  needle  or  the  darning  needle  moved  more  rapidly  than 
their  tongues.  And  this  toil  and  struggle  followed  day  after 
day,  and  continued  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  year  ; 
there  were  no  liolidaA's  then  ;  picnics  and  barbecues  had  not  then 
been  heard  of.  Almost  the  only  interruptions  were  the  twent}^- 
four  hours  of  the  Sabbath,  which  Avere  kept  most  sacredly  by 
them,  and  the  occasional  calls  for  extra  meetings  on  Aveek  days, 
during  the  time  when  unusual  attention  Avas  given  to  religion. 
And  yet  thc}^  grew  up  hearty,  stalwart  men  and  genuine  women ; 


WESTIIAMPTON   REUNION.  29 

lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.  Sickness  rarely  came  into  the  house- 
hold, the  doctor  was  seldom  called  in,  thej'^  never  bought  any 
patent  medicine,  and  it  was  not  often  that  any  illness  afflicted 
them  which  a  little  '•'■  pennyricd"  or  thoroughwort  tea,  or  a  few 
doses  of  '•'■  pikery"  did  not  cure. 

A  trip  to  the  seaside  for  health,  who  ever  heard  of  it  ?  A  jour- 
ney to  the  White  Mountains  !  why  tliey  had  simply  to  mount  Tob, 
Cub  or  Turkey  Hills,  and  they  were  fanned  by  a  breeze  as  fine 
as  any  which  sweeps  across  Mount  Washington. 

The  dress  of  the  women  was  as  simple  as  that  of  the  men. 
Most  of  their  clothing  consisted  of  wool,  flax  and  cotton,  made 
by  their  own  hands.  The  materials  were  colored  in  the  dj^e  tub, 
which  used  to  stand  near  the  great  kitchen  fire  place,  or  by  the 
aid  of  butternut  bark.  Generally,  they  wore  a  black  or  striped 
petticoat,  with  a  Avhite  linen  gown  which  extended  down  a  little 
below  the  waist,  and  a  long  checked  apron  in  front.  When  at 
work  out  of  doors  sometimes  thej'  were  bareheaded,  but  more  com- 
monly thej^  covered  their  head  with  a  rush  hat,  or  a  paste-board 
bonnet  bound  with  a  cape  to  protect  the  neck.  Perhaps  some 
here  to-day  can  remember  the  butternut  colored  petticoats  worn 
by  the  school  girls,  and  the  flannel  gowns  of  a  bluish  or  purple 
color,  worn  by  adult  females.  These  were  made  up  loose,  adap- 
ted to  the  action  of  the  bod}",  and  not  fitted  to  sweep  the  streets, 
cut  short  so  that  the  feet  could  move  freely,  and  drawn  up  by  a 
string  in  a  few  folds  about  the  waist,  so  loose  that  the  lungs 
could  perfonn  all  their  duties.  So  dressed',  the  boj^s  had  hard 
work  to  catch  the  girls  in  the  race  at  tag.  For  winter,  the  hood 
was  the  bonnet,  a  vandike  was  worn  over  the  shoulders,  a  flan- 
nel gown  protected  the  chest,  and  thick  woolen  mittens  covered 
the  hands.     This  was  the  golden  age  of  home-spun. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  before  the  energy  of  such  men  and  wo- 
men, the  forest  disappeared,  and  soon  the  wilderness  blossomed 
as  the  rose.  It  is  no  wonder,  that  during  the  ten  years  which 
followed  the  first  blow  of  the  first  settler's  axe,  thirteen  framed 
houses  and  as  many  barns  had  been  erected. 

And  yet,  in  the  midst  of  all  Miis  struggle  with  nature,  how 
rapidl}"  the  children  increased  ;  they  became  almost  as  numerous 
as  the  birds  of  the  forest.  The  families  of  our  forefathers  were 
large.  Four  or  five  children  were  a  small  number ;  seven  and 
eight  were  the  more  common  numbers  ;  often  there  were  ten  or 
twelve  robust  children  in  the  family,  and  sometimes  sixteen.  The 
children  were  born  healthy,  the}'  were  fed  upon  plain,  simple 
food,  they  grew  up  stout  and  healthy  ;  and  the  dwellings  of  the 
pai-ents  were  filled  and  made  vocal  with  the  merry  clatter  of 
buxom  girls  and  ruddy  boys. 

How  unlike  the  present  day  is  this.  Now  we  must  travel 
many  a  mile  before  we  can  find  a  family  of  ten   children  ;  four 


30  WESTHAMPTON    KEUNION. 

or  five  is  the  more  common  number,  and  often  we  see  a  family 
with  only  one  or  two  children,  and  these  often  little  puny,  white 
livered  things,  without  life  or  health,  and  so  feeble  and  delicate 
as  to  take  two  or  three  persons  to  take  care  of  one  of  them.  In 
fact,  in  these  times,  manj^  families  are  met  with  Avhich  are  whol- 
ly destitute  of  children,  while  many  of  the  families  which  do 
have  them,  cannot  or  are  unwilling  to  take  care  of  them,  but  the 
little  ones,  like  lambs  disowned  by  their  dams,  are  brought  up 
b}'^  hand  or  put  out  to  nurse.  And  so  rare  is  it  now  to  sec 
ten  children  cluster  around  one  fireside,  that  such  a  sight  is  a 
great  curiosity.  I  have  traveled  more  than  twelve  miles  to  see 
a  mother  of  sixteen  children,  and  Avhen  I  meet  with  one  of  ten, 
I  feel  like  bowing  and  salutiug  her  with  deep  reverence  and  hon- 
or. Let  luxur}',  fashion  and  extravagance  go  on  in  this  country, 
and  we  shall  de'pend  upon  the  foreigner  to  do  not  only  the  work, 
but  also  to  make  any  additions  to  our  census. 

With  them,  marriages  took  place  in  the  morning  of  life,  when 
the  heart  was  pure  and  the  affections  strong.  There  were  few, 
if  any,  old  bachelors  in  those  times,  and  there  was  a  gill  for 
every  jack.  The  young  man  did  not  wait  to  make  a  fortune  be- 
fore he  took  a  Avife,  nor  did  the  fair  maid  reject  the  offer  of  him, 
who  came  only  with  a  stout  heart  and  hands  hardened  by  maul}' 
toil.  And  as  for  a  setting  out,  little  was  needed  by  the  fair 
maids  except  the  feather  bed,  which  was  filled  with  real  live 
geese  feathers,  plucked  by  their  own  hands.  And  I  have  been 
informed  by  one  of  the  parties,  that  one  young  couple  began 
their  married  life  by  moving  into  the  back  room  of  the  groom's 
father,  with  only  two  chairs  and  a  bed  ;  and  they  had  their  meals 
in  this  way,  the  wife  got  up  earl}'  and  took  the  cooking  utensils 
of  the  old  folks,  prepared  the  breakfast,  eat  it,  and  washed  the 
dishes,  and  carried  them  back  into  the  other  apartment  in  season 
for  the  breakfast  by  her  parents  ;  and  so  on,  for  dinner  and  sup- 
per, she  used  the  dishes  of  her  parents,  some  half  an  hour  before 
they  wished  to  use  the  same. 

Such  is  a  verj^  imperfect  sketch  of  some  of  the  manners  and 
deeds  of  the  first  inhabitants*  of  Westhampton.  They  were  a 
race  of  sterling  men,  such  as  this  country  will  never  see  again. 
They  laid  deep  and  strong  the  foundations  of  the  prosperity  of 
the  town.  They  set  in  motion  all  those  influences  which  have 
blessed  the  people ;  they  established  all  the  ordinances  which 
have  bound  together,  in  one  harmonious  whole,  the  diverse  ele- 
ments of  the  human  race.  By  their  wisdom,  discord  was  re- 
duced to  harmon}',  and  peace  has  reigned  throughout  all  its  bor- 
ders ;  by  their  energy  and  industr}^  prosperity  has  been  univer- 
sal, and  through  their  humble  but  devout  piety,  happiness  has 
entered  every  cottage,  and  contentment  fills  every  soul.  Their 
life  was  one  of  toil,  and  it  had  its  griefs,  sorrows  and  disap- 


WESTHA3IPTON    REUNION.  31 

pointments ;  but  these  troubles,  like  the  fleecy  clouds  passing 
over  the  sun  in  the  western  sky,  onlj^  made  their  declining  daj'S 
more  brilliant,  and  their  sunset  more  glorious  and  resplendent. 

P.  S.  In  the  preparation  of  the  foregoing  address,  in  all  dis- 
puted points,  I  haA-e  followed  the  authority  of  Sylvester  Judd,  late 
of  Northampton,  Born  in  "Westhampton  in  1789,  and  living 
here  till  1822,  he  knew  many  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  town, 
and  had  the  best  opportunity  to  determine  the  facts  of  its  set- 
tlement. He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  town, 
and  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  advance  its  prosperity.  While 
here  he  began  his  historical  and  classical  studies,  it  was  here  he 
formed  that  simple  but  vigorous  style  of  writing  in  which  he  af- 
terwards excelled,  and  it  was  here  he  began  to  practice  that  in- 
dustry, application  and  sterling  integrity,  which,  in  after  years, 
made  him  so  distinguished  as  an  antiquarian,  and  his  authority 
almost  unquestioned.  The  later  3'ears  of  his  life  were  chiefly 
occupied  in  studying  the  historj'  of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  and 
the  life,  habits  and  customs  of  its  early  settlers,  intending  to 
write  a  history  of  Northampton  and  the  neighboring  towns. 
For  this  purpose  he  accumulated  a  vast  amount  of  rare  and  val- 
uable material,  part  of  which  is  contained  in  his  history  of  Had- 
lej',  but  the  greater  part  remains  in  numerous  manuscript  vol- 
umes. To  these  manuscripts  I  had  constant  reference  in  writing 
this  address. 


32  WESTHAMPTON   KEDNION. 

ADDRESS. 

BY    OTIS    CLAPP,    ESQ. 

The  creation  aud  establishment  of  the  townships  of  New  Eng- 
land in  the  last  two  centuries,  constitute  an  era  in  the  history  of 
free  government  and  human  civilization. 

[After  quoting  De  Tocqueville,  John  Quincy  Adams  and  others, 
to  show  the  motives  which  brought  the  first  settlers  to  New 
England,  and  their  creation  of  the  s^'stem  of  syncdl  toionships  as 
the  rallying  points  of  the  people,  and  the  nurseries  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom,  and  portraying  the  great  influence  which  these 
states  in  miniature  exerted  upon  the  independent  thinking  and 
future  destinies  of  the  country,  Mr.  Clapp  proceeded  to  say  :] 

It  is  a  matter  of  no  small  satisfaction  to  us,  as  natives  of  this 
good  old  town  of  Westhampton,  attracted  from  the  different 
points  of  the  compass,  to  this  reunion,  on  the  soil  that  gave  us 
birth,  to  know  that  its  first  settlers  were  true  to  the  principles 
of  their  origin ;  that  the}'  labored  faithfully  and  successfully  to 
transmit  to  their  children  the  blessings  they  had  received. 

No  native  was  allowed  to  grow  up  in  ignorance.  I  was  a  res- 
ident of  the  town  from  1806  to  1823.  During  this  period,  I 
never  saw  such  a  prodigy,  as  a  man  or  woman,  native  or  resi- 
dent, who  could  neither  read  nor  write.  I  well  recollect,  when 
so  young  as  to  occupy  a  seat  among  the  youngest  pupils,  the 
amazement  produced  by  this  incident.  A  family  moved  into  the 
town  with  several  daughters  who  were  women  grown.  Their 
acquirements  were  such  that  they  were  placed  in  our  class. 

Here  children  and  adults  were  in  the  same  class.  They  were 
required  to  ascend  the  same  "  ladder  to  learning,"  bj'  studying 
and  reciting  the  same  lessons,  and  on  the  same  level.  The  nov- 
elty of  the  case  caused  feelings  of  surprise  not  easily  eftaced. 

The  early  founders  of  this  town  were  deeply  imbued  with  the 
principles  to  which  I  have  referred.  Rev.  Enoch  Hale  was  their 
fu'st  minister,  and  may  be  regarded  as  a  fair  representative  of 
these  principles.  A  brief  sketch,  therefore,  of  the  Hale  family, 
it  has  been  suggested,  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  this  Occasion, 
and  may  help  to  illustrate  the  subject  before  us. 

There  were  in  England  at  the  first  settlement  of  this  state, 
three  large  families  of  Hales,  and  all  seem  to  have  been  educated 
among  the  puritans.  The  celebrated  jurist.  Sir  Matthew  Hale, 
was  one  of  them.  Two  of  these  families  sent  representatives  to 
this  state.     Robert  Hale  came  to  Charlestown  in  1G32,  and  was 


WESTHAMPTON     REUNIOX.  33 

made  deacon  of  the  church  in  that  place  at  its  formation.  His 
son,  Rev.  John  Hale,  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1657. 
He  Tvas  settled  as  the  first  minister  at  Beverl}',  in  16G7.  He  was 
one  of  the  chaplains  connected  with  the  expedition  to  Canada 
in  1G90,  and  was  taken  prisoner.  He  was  a  highly  educated, 
influential  and  useful  man. 

One  of  his  sous,  Deacon  Richard  Hale,  moved  to  Coventry, 
Connecticut.  He  had  thirteen  children.  The  fifth  was  Rev. 
Enoch  Hale,  born  October  28,  1753,  and  the  sixth  was  Nathan 
Hale,  born  June  6,  1755,  and  who  was  executed  as  a  spy  in  New 
York,  b}'  the  British  army,  September  22,  1776.  There  was  less 
than  two  years  difference  in  the  ages  of  the  two.  Both  entered 
Yale  College  in  1769,  and  graduated  in  1773.  They  were  devo- 
tedly attached  to  each  other.  So  profoundly  did  Enoch  feel  the 
death  of  his  brother,  that  he  was  never  known  to  allude  to  him, 
unless  led  to  do  so  by  others.  Such  a  death,  with  its  attending 
circumstances,  undoubtedly  tended  to  deepen  and  develop  those 
grave  and  serious  qualities  of  character  which  shone  forth  so 
prominently  in  his  after  life.  Such  are  the  teachings  of  an 
overruling  providence. 

The  father  had  intended  both  sons  for  the  ministry,  and  their 
studies  had  reference  to  that  end. 

The  father  is  represented  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity,  piety 
and  industry.  He  was  farmer,  deacon  of  the  church,  and  repre- 
sentative to  the  general  assembly.  He  passed  a  long,  laborious 
and  useful  life.  The  mother  was  a  lad^'  of  high  moral  and  do- 
mestic worth,  strougly  attached  to  her  children,  and  careful  of 
their  culture. 

The  family  was  eminentl}-  puritan  in  its  faith,  tastes  and  man- 
ners— a  quiet,  strict,  godly  household,  where  the  Bible  ruled, 
and  family  prayers  never  failed,  nor  was  grace  ever  omitted,  nor 
work  done  after  sundown  of  a  Saturday'  night.  Nathan  early 
exhibited  a  fondness  for  rural  sports.  In  consequence,  his  in- 
fancy, at  first  feeble,  soon  hardened  into  firm  boj'hood,  and  with 
the  growth  of  his  body,  his  mind  developed  rapidly.  He  mas- 
tered his  books  with  ease,  and  was  constantly  applying  his  infor- 
mation. When  he  entered  college,  he  was  considered  a  prodi- 
gy of  learning  in  the  churches.  President  Dwight,  his  tutor, 
entertained  a  very  high  idea  of  his  capacity.  He  used  frequently 
to  refer  to  him,  and  always  with  admiration  of  his  course  in 
college,  and  of  deep  regret  of  his  untimely  fate.  He  spoke  of 
him  as  peculiarly  fond  of  scientific  pursuits,  and  that  in  these 
he  stood  at  the  head  of  his  class. 

He  has  beautifully  eulogized  him  in  verse.  President  Sparks 
says  :  "  He  became  distinguished  as  a  scholar  ;  and  endowed  in 
an  eminent  degree  with  those  graces  and  gifts  of  nature  which 
add  a  charm  to  youthful  excellence,  he  gained  universal  esteem 


34  WESTHAMPTON    REUNIOX. 

and  confidence.  To  high  moral  worth  and  irreproachable  habits, 
were  joined  gentleness  of  manners,  an  ingenuous  disposition, 
and  vigor  of  understanding.  No  young  man  of  his  j-ears  put 
forth  a  ftxirer  promise  of  future  usefulness  and  celebrity ;  the 
fortunes  of  none  were  fostered  more  sincerely  by  the  generous 
good  wishes  of  his  associates,  or  the  hopes  and  encouraging 
presages  of  liis  superiors." 

He  graduated  in  1773,  and  commenced  school-keeping,  first  in 
East  Haddam,  and  then  in  New  London.  The  school  in  which 
he  taught  was  owned  by  the  first  gentlemen  in  New  London,  all 
of  whom  were  exceedingly  gratified  by  his  skill  and  assiduity. 
His  skill  in  imparting  knowledge  was  unsurpassed.  When  the 
news  arrived  at  New  London  of  the  attack  by  the  British  upon 
Lexington,  April  19,  1775,  the  citizens  at  once  assembled  in 
town  meeting.  Hale  addressed  the  assembly.  "Let  us  march 
immediately,"  said  he,  "  and  never  lay  down  our  arms  until  we 
obtain  our  independence,"  and  enrolling  at  once  as  a  volunteer. 
He  assembled  his  scliool  the  next  morning,  made  his  pupils  an 
affectionate  address,  gave  them  earnest  counsel,  prayed  with 
them,  and  shaking  each  by  the  hand,  took  his  leave. 

His  company  was  ordered  to  Boston.  In  November,  1775, 
the  army  was  threatened  with  dissolution,  by  the  expiration  of 
enlistments.  Hale  promised  his  companj'  his  own  pay  if  they 
would  tarry  a  given  period.  He  was  located  from  September, 
1775,  to  April,  177G,  in  the  camp  around  Boston,  where  all  was 
siege  and  counter  plot,  in  the  mouth  of  danger.  His  company, 
from  the  skill  with  which  he  managed  it,  soon  became  a  model 
for  others. 

He  was  the  frequent  guest  of  General  Putnam,  and  conferred 
freely  with  Generals  Sullivan,  Lee  and  Spencer.  In  April,  1776, 
he  was  transferred  with  his  troops  to  New  York.  At  that  time 
a  British  sloop  laden  with  supplies  was  anchored  under  the  six- 
ty-four guns  of  the  British  ship  Asia.  Hale  arranged  a  surprise 
party,  took  her  as  a  prize,  and  used  the  goods  to  feed  the  hun- 
gry and  clothe  the  naked  of  our  own  army. 

In  September,  177G,  General  AYashington  became  extremely 
anxious  to  learn  the  number  and  position  of  the  British  army 
on  Long  Island.  A  board  of  officers  concurred  with  him  as  to 
its  importance,  and  Col.  Knowlton  was  selected  to  find  a  com- 
petent person  to  penetrate  their  lines  and  lift  the  veil  of  secrecy. 
Knowlton  appealed  to  the  officers  of  his  own  regiment,  and  then 
to  others  for  some  one  to  volunteer,  but  all  declined.  Hale,  who 
had  been  sick,  and  was  still  pale  and  feeble,  and  came  late  to 
the  assembly  of  oflScers,  said,  "  I  will  undertake  it."  His  friends 
and  classmates  expostulated.  Here  is  his  reply.  "  I  think  I 
owe  to  my  country  the  accomplishment  of  an  object  so  impor- 
tant, and  so  much  desired  by  the  commander  of  our  armies,  and 


WESTHAMPTON     REUNION.  35 

and  I  know  of  no  other  mode  of  obtaining  the  information,  than 
by  assuming  a  disguise,  and  passing  into  tlie  enemy's  camp.  I 
am  fully  sensible  of  the  consequences  of  discover}'  and  capture 
in  such  a  situation.  I  Avish  to  be  useful,  and  every  kind  of  ser- 
vice necessary  to  the  public  good  becomes  honorable  by  becom- 
ing necessary.  If  the  exigences  of  my  country  demand  pecu- 
liar service,  its  claims  to  the  performance  of  that  service  are 
imperious." 

His  acceptance  was  placed  upon  the  simple  ground  of  loyalty 
to  duty.  He  succeeded  in  gaining  the  desired  iufoj-mation,  but 
was  taken  prisoner  and  executed.  A  Bible  was  refused  him  in 
his  last  moments.  The  letters  he  had  written  to  his  family  were 
torn  up  by  his  coarse  and  unfeeling  executioner,  who,  at  the  last 
moment,  scoffingly  demanded  his  dying  speech  and  confession. 
The  only  answer  by  Hale  wa»in  these  words  :  "I  only  regret 
that  I  have  but  one  life  to  give  for  my  country." 

The  last  remark  of  Andre,  made  under  similar  circumstances, 
was  :  "  I  pray  3'ou  to  bear  me  witness,  that  I  meet  my  fate  like 
a  brave  man." 

"  Is  it  not  obvious,"  sa3'S  the  historian,  "that  one  was  meas- 
uring himself  in  the  eyes  of  men — the  other  in  the  eyes  of  his 
Maker?"     Andre  was  thinking  of  himself.  Hale  of  his  country. 

It  is  believed  that  these  traits  of  character,  this  trust  in  God, 
this  loyalty  to  duty,  w^ere  largely  shared  by  the  two  brothers. 
They  had  been  brought  up  like  most  of  the  New  England  colo- 
nists, in  highly  religious  surroundings  ;  to  believe  in  the  word 
of  God,  as  the  only  rule  of  action,  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 

Rev.  Enoch  Hale  was  ordained  on  the  28th  of  September, 
1777,  and  died  January  14th,  1837,  after  a  ministry  of  fifty- 
seven  years.  He  possessed  qualities  of  mind  and  character, 
that  rendered  him  in  his  day  and  generation,  a  marked  man. 
Not  so  much  for  brilliant  talents,  as  for  thorough  conscientious- 
ness, and  habits  of  quiet  and  systematic  order.  His  life  seemed 
serene  and  useful.  He  possessed  thorough  self-control,  and  al- 
was  manifested  to  all,  peace  and  good  will.  He  was  exceeding- 
ly exact  in  his  habits,  as  shown  in  his  appointments,  and  in  his 
records.  He  kept  an  exact  record  of  the  births,  marriages  and 
deaths  ;  and  the  member^  of  the  church,  in  the  town.  He  took 
a  warm  interest  in  the  schools,  and  used  to  visit  them  often. 
He  kept  a  complete  record  of  the  names  and  ages  of  the  pupils, 
in  a  portable  book  for  easy  reference.  These  records  were  near- 
1}^  all  destroyed  by  the  burning  of  his  house  in  1816. 

He  prepared  a  spelling  book  about  the  first  of  this  century, 
in  which  he  endeavored  to  realize  the  apostolic  idea,  to  think 
and  "  speak  as  a  child,"  with  a  view  of  interesting  children  in 
lessons  and  stories  adapted  to  their  apprehension.  In  this  he 
succeeded  in  suiting  the  little  ones ;  but  not  the  adults.  In 
3 


36  WESTHAMPTON    REUNION. 

those  (la3-s  it  was  the  custom  to  teach  children  abstract  doctrines 
of  theology,  as  well  as  to  read,  write  and  spell.  His  effort  was 
a  generation  too  soon.  The  idea  was  taken  up  thirty  j-ears  la- 
ter, and  now  the  world  is  full  of  juvenile  literature.  He  used 
to  have  more  or  less  pupils  to  fit  for  college,  or  as  teachers. 
Among  these  were  Rev.  Dr.  Justin  Edwards,  Rev.  E.  B.  Wright 
and  Rev.  Dorus  Clarke. 

For  many  j-ears  he  examined  all  the  teachers  for  the  town 
schools,  and  gave  certificates  to  such  as  proved  competent, 
Among  the -qualifications  requii'ed,  was  the  ability  to  teach 
"  good  behavior."  In  this  way  his  influence  was  felt  in  raising 
the  standard  of  the  schools,  and  upon  the  manners  of  the  chil- 
dren. No  bo}-  or  girl,  in  those  days,  ever  thought  of  passing 
an  adult  in  the  street,  without  the  proper  bow  or  curtes}-.  "  The 
influence,"  I  am  told  by  one  wh»  knew  him  well,  "  was  felt  in 
the  common  schools  in  Westhaini)ton,  years  after  his  decease, 
by  those  who  had  been  pupils  in  the  district  schools,  and  had 
children  of  their  own  to  send  to  the  district  schools."  He  was 
careful  and  exact  in  the  use  of  language,  never  letting  drop  ex- 
pressions which  would  inflict  a  wound.  Under  the  fostering 
care  of  such  ministrations,  and  with  the  cordial  co-operatjpn  of 
leading  minds,  there  existed  a  healthy  tone  of  public  sentiment 
in  the  town.  This  showed  itself  in  the  management  of  its  reli- 
gious, educational  and  civil  affairs,  which  caused  Westhampton 
to  be  spoken  of  by  her  neighbors,  in  this  regard,  as  a  model 
town. 

He  had  eight  children,  three  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of 
whom  were  married,  and  had  children.  His  oldest  son,  Nathan 
Hale,  Avas  born  in  1774.  He  graduated  at  Williams  College  in 
1804,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1810.  He  commenced  as 
editor  of  the  Weekly  Messenger  in  1811,  and  of  the  Daily  Ad- 
vertiser— the  first  daily  paper  in  New  England — in  1814.  In 
1825  he  published  a  map  of  New  England,  which  had  been  pre- 
pared with  great  care  and  labor.  He  was  one  of  the  most  exact, 
and  best  read  geographers  in  the  country.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  in  the  country  to  make  known  the  adA'antages  of  railroads, 
and  did  more  than  any  one  man  in  the  state  to  inform  the  pub- 
lic mind  in  relation  to  them.  He  was  acting  President  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Internal  Improvement,  under  whose 
superintendence  the  surve3'S  were  made  for  a  sj'stem  of  rail- 
roads. He  was  first  President  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester 
Railroad — the  first  road  that  run  cars  out  of  Boston. 

He  was  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for  introdu- 
cing water  into  the  city  of  Boston.  As  a  journalist  for  nearly 
fifty  3'ears,  he  occupied  a  position  among  the  first,  for  variety 
of  information,  solidity  of  judgment,  and  dignity  of  character. 
Few  men  have  contributed  more  largely-  to  the  ph3'sical  wealth 
of  the  state,  or  have  proved  more  useful  citizens. 


WESTIIAMPTON   REUNION.  37 

Dr.  Enoch  Hale  was  born  iu  1790,  and  died  in  1846.  Pro- 
fessionall}',  he  was  well  educated.  He  stood  high  as  a  prac- 
titioner, and  as  an  author.  His  first  work  was  called  "  Experi- 
ments on  the  Production  of  Animal  Heat  by  Respiration,"  which 
attracted  much  attention  both  here  and  in  England.  He  sub- 
sequently wrote  a  work  on  "Spotted  Fever,"  and  another  on 
"  T3'phoid  Fever."  He  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  medical 
journals  and  reviews.  "  Few  among  us,"  says  Dr.  W.  Channing, 
his  biographer,  "have  done  more  than  he  has  in  his  way,  to 
benefit  his  profession.  He  was  a  thorough  student,  a  careful 
observer  of  facts,  and  exact  in  recording  them.  He  was  also 
a  man  of  decided  convictions  and  character,  and  outspoken  iu 
his  views." 

Richard  Hale  was  born  July  2d,  1792,  and  died  in  1839.  He 
was  a  farmer.  He  possessed  qualities  of  mind  and  character 
that  endeared  him  to  all  who  were  placed  in  circumstances  to 
feel  them. 

"  Madam  Hale,"  says  an  old  and  respected  parishoner,  "  was 
a  fitting  partner  for  a  parish  minister.  Intelligent,  industrious, 
judicious  and  frugal,  well  versed  in  the  culinary  department, 
nothing  wasted,  the  cruse  of  oil  and  barrel  of  meal  never  failed. 
The  clothing  of  the  family  in  her  day,  being  mainly  of  domes- 
tic manufacture,  she  put  her  hands  willingly  and  efhcientl}^  to 
the  work,  aided  and  assisted  by  her  five  daughters,  as  far  as  age 
and  ability-  would  permit.  B}^  the  people  of  Westhampton,  I 
believe,  she  was  universally  respected  and  beloved."  Four  of 
these  daughters  are  still  living.  It  may  be  more  proper  to 
speak  of  them  and  their  children  at  some  future  period. 

My  early  recollections  of  this  town  extend  back  something 
over  half  a  centuiy.  I  can  recollect  the  advent  of  light  carria- 
ges for  traveling,  and  some  of  the  changes  it  produced.  Prior 
to  that  period,  going  to  church  on  Sundays  was  made  on  foot, 
and  on  horseback.  Pillions,  attached  to  the  saddle  for  ladies, 
were  common,  and  several  horse  blocks,  with  steps  to  aid  in 
mounting  the  horse,  were  located  near  the  church.  It  was  no 
very  uncommon  thing  to  see  two  adults  and  two  children  mount- 
ed on  one  horse — one  astride  in  front,  and  the  other  in  its  moth- 
er's arms. 

In  those  days,  everybody  went  to  church,  old  and  young,  un- 
less prevented  by  sickness.  As  I  was  born  and  lived  within 
eight  rods  of  the  meeting  house,  I  knew  b}^  sight  every  man 
and  woman,  and  nearly  every  child  in  the  town. 

I  could  also  recognize  the  ownership  of  nearly  every  hcffse 
and  carriage,  as  well  as  every  dog  in  the  town. 

It  was  from  the  adjoining  hill  called  Tob,  nametl  from  an  old 
Indian  who  used  to  reside  thereon,  where  the  first  emotions  of 
beautj'  and  grandeur  were  awakened  iu  my  mind«    This  was 


38  WESTHAMPTON     REUNION. 

caused  by  admiring  the  waters  and  valley  of  the  beautiful  Con- 
necticut;  the  peaks  of  Mounts  Tom  and  Hol^'oke,  as  well  as 
the  lesser  mountains  and  hills  in  all  directions.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  Dr.  Dwight  in  relation  to  the  Connecticut : 

No  watery  fjleams  through  fairer  valleys  shine, 
Nor  drinks  the  sea  a  lovelier  stream  than  thine. 

I  have  since  travelled  in  near  half  the  states,  and  in  the  Can- 
adas,  with  an  eye  always  open  to  fine  scener}' ;  but  to  my  mind 
nothing  exceeds  in  picturesque  beauty,  the  scener3-  of  this  good 
old  county  of  Hampshire. 

To  tlie  native,  who  has  roamed  over  these  hills  and  vales  in 
days  of  cliildhood  and  iiniocencc  ;  who  has  inhaled  its  invigora- 
ting breezes,  and  v/ho  has  its  scenes  engraven  upon  his  memory, 
his  heart  will  fondl}'  turn  to  the  i)lace  of  his  nativitv,  and  its 
scenes  will  challenge  comparison  with  all  others. 

Among  the  most  delicate  and  touching  experiences  in  life,  are 
those  in  which  the  memories  of  childhood  are  reproduced.  One 
illustration  of  this  was  shown  in  the  case  of  the  late  Nathan 
Hale.  When  on  the  threshold  of  the  other  world,  and  with  his 
mind  partl}^  there,  he  used  to  bid  his  family  and  friends  an  af- 
fectionate   good-by,  saying  "  he  was   going  to  Westhampton  !  " 

The  late  Dr.  Nott  used  to  regard  as  foremost  among  the  agen- 
cies for  the  development  of  social  character,  the  Singing  School, 
and  similar  gatherings  of  the  country  towns.  This  town  has 
not,  it  is  believed,  ])een  behind  others  in  availing  itself  of  these 
advantages.  The  influence  of  social  gatherings  to  practice  the 
singing  of  music,  is  in  a  high  degree  elevating.  The  advanta- 
ges of  this  in  the  camp  were  strikingly  manifest.  Those  young 
men  who  had  cultivated  a  taste  for  music,  had  always  resources 
to  fall  back  upon  ;  and  those  resources  were  elevating,  instead 
of  debasing  in  character.  The  soldier  who  could  in  heart  join 
his  companions  in  songs  of  patriotism  and  praise,  could  hardly 
fail  to  be  reliable  on  the  field  of  battle.  A  case  in  illustration 
came  under  my  observation.  A  young  man  once  spent  the  sing- 
ing school  season  in  this  town.  He  entered  heart  and  soul  into 
the  work  of  learning,  procured  his  tuning  fork,  and  was  never 
more  happy  than  when  joining  others  in  soug.  He  carried  this 
taste  to  tlie  prairies  of  the  West,  and  from  there  to  the  camps 
in  Virginia.  He  drew  the  soldiers  around  him  ;  and  although 
they  were  among  the  most  efficient  fighting  characters  in  the 
service,  they  spent  a  good  portion  of  their  leisure  in  chanting 
songs  of  praise. 

The  most  reliable  soldiers  of  the  recent  war,  were  not  those 
recruited  at  the  Five  Points  and  Black  Seas.  They  were  the 
graduates  of  our  Sabbath  Schools,  and  of  houses  where  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Divine  Word  are  made  the  rule  of  life.     According 


WESTHAMPTON  EEtTSION.  39 

lo  Cromwell,  (the  greatest  soldier  of  his  age,)  "he  that  prays 
best,  and  preaches  best,  will  fight  best."  Those  men  and  women 
who  drink  in  these  inspirations,  can  go  into  the  highways  and 
byways,  without  soiling  their  garments.  The  poison  of  the  asp 
and  the  cockatrice  cannot  hurt  them.  The  hope  of  the  world  is 
in  the  purity  and  integrity  of  the  famil}-.  Rural  life  and  scenes 
seem  best  adapted  to  foster  and  to  nourish  these  qualities.  It 
is  much  easier  to  surround  childhood  with  health}^  influences, 
in  such  scenes,  than  amid  the  distractions  and  allurements  of 
the  cit}'-.  Respect  for,  and  obedience  to,  the  invitations  of  the 
nine  o'clock  eA'ening  bell,  on  the  part  of  the  young,  have  an  al- 
most magic  influence  in  laying  the  foundations  of  a  sound  con- 
stitution, fitted  for  a  life  of  useful  endurance. 

Our  system  of  small  townships  and  churches  is  admirably 
adapted  as  nurseries  for  teaching  and  instilling  into  the  minds 
of  the  young  those  fundamental  principles  of  justice,  which 
form  the  basis  of  intelligent  and  virtuous  action.  One  of  the 
ends  of  creation  is,  that  men  and  women  should  have  sound 
minds  in  sound  bodies.  Here,  on  these  hills  and  valleys,  is  the 
place,  of  all  others,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  both.  On  no  spot 
of  earth  does  the  sun  shine  brighter,  nor  is  the  air  of  heaven 
more  pure. 

Wliether  your  course  of  life  is  to  be  spent  here,  or  elsewhere, 
there  can  be  no  better  place  to  develop  healthy  phj'sical  and 
moral  muscles,  to  meet  the  warfare  of  life. 

Jeff'erson  regarded  large  cities  as  pests  in  the  bodv  politic. 
Cities  are  only  what  the  towns  of  the  countr}-  make  them,  by 
the  kind  of  men  and  women  which  they  contribute  to  them. 
The  city  is  merely  a  centre  of  demand  and  supply  for  the  man- 
ufactured and  other  products  of  the  country — not  excepting  its 
vices.  The  tone  of  morals  which  prevail  in  the  city  is  largely 
determined  by  the  quality  of  its  contributions  from  the  country. 

If  we  train  up  the  young  in  the  Avay  they  should  go,  all  is 
well.  But  if  otherwise,  the  community  is  drawn  downwards  by 
inverted  influences.  How  important,  therefore,  that  children 
should  go  into  the  world  with  moral  principles  so  fixed  as  not 
to  be  turned  aside  by  temptation  ! 

Forty  years  ago  a  poor  boy  left  this  town  for  one  of  the 
large  cities.  He  there  met  a  talented  and  fascinating  cousin. 
This  cousin,  in,  due  time,  opened  to  him  the  allurements  which ' 
were  scattered  along  the  broadways  of  life,  and  invited  him  to 
walk  therein.  He  hesitated  ;  the  teachings  and  prayers  of  a 
sainted  mother  came  to  his  aid,  and  he  declined.  Here  was  a 
turning  point  in  life.  The  two  cousins  travelled  in  difterent  di- 
rections ;  one  in  the  path  of  sobriet}^  and  respectability,  the 
other  in  paths  I  need  not  describe. 

The  needed  spiritual  forces  to  meet  these  temptations  can  be 


49  AVESTIIAMPTON   REUNION. 

successfully  invoked  through  the  family  altar.  Our  fathers 
learned  to  draw  their  strength  from  this  source.  When  Solo- 
mon succeeded  to  the  duties  of  his  father,  he  said  to  the  Lord  : 
"1  am  but  a  little  cliild  ;  I  know  not  how  to  go  out  or  come  in. 
Give  therefore,  th}'  servant  an  understanding  heart  to  judge  thy 
people,  that  I  may  discern  between  good  and  bad."  It  "  i)leas- 
ed  the  Lord  that  Solomon  had  asked  this  thing."  "And  God 
said  unto  liim,  because  thou  hast  asked  this  thing,  and  hast  not 
asked  for  tlwself  long  life,  neither  hast  thou  asked  riches  for 
thyself,  nor  hast  thou  asked  the  life  of  thine  enen)ies,  but  hast 
asked  for  thyseU  miderfitanding  to  discern  judgment ;  behold  I 
have  done  according  to  thy  words  :  lo,  I  have  given  thee  a  wise 
and  understanding  heart.  And  I  have  also  given  theq  that 
which  tliou  hast  not  asked,  both  riches  and  honor." 

Such  are  the  blessings  showered  upon  man,  when  the  neces- 
sary conditions  are  conformed  to. 

There  are  few  towns  where  the  tone  of  conversation  was  less 
mixed  witli  profane  expressions.  I  well  recollect  the  shock  pro- 
duced on  hearing  the  first  i)rofane  oatli.  A  family  had  moved 
into  this  scliool  district,  and  two  new  boys  had  come  to  school. 
They  were  not  bad — except  badl}'  educated.  It  Avas  natural  for 
them  to  roll  out  oaths,  as  to  talk.  It  startled  and  alarmed  the 
good  people  of  the  district.  They  feared  the  demoralization  of 
the  district,  and  not  without  reason.  As  for  myself,  I  wondered 
the  earth  did  not  open  and  swallow  them  up.  It  turned  out, 
however,  as  the  use  of  proper  means  may  always  do,  that  these 
boj's  were  educated  out  of  their  profanity,  instead  of  teaching 
it  to  others. 

It  should  not  be  inferred  that  good  influences  always  prevail- 
ed in  the  early  periods  of  our  town  life.  Far  from  it.  While 
the  predominant  influences  seemed  to  be  good,  there  were  some 
drawbacks.  The  wheat  and  tares  grew  together  here,  as  else- 
where. Among  the  first  difliculties,  was  the  question  of  loca- 
tion of  the  meeting  house.  There  was  a  Northern  and  South- 
ern party.  Tlie  contest,  at  one  time,  threatened  to  be  serious. 
The  timber  for  the  house  was  carried  three  times  by  the 
pastor's  house,  and  gave  him  much  uneasiness.  Tlie  matter, 
however,  after  some  dela}^,  took  a  favorable  turn,  and  all  was 
harmonized. 

•  Within  my  recollection,  cider  distilleries  abounded  in  the 
town,  and  sent  forth  their  perverting  influences.  I  can  recol- 
lect when  there  was  no  less  than  three  taverns,  which  in  winter 
kept  their  hospitable  fires  and  flipirons  always  in  readiness  to 
minister  to  the  wants  of  callers.  The  change,  however,  in  the 
"  drinking  usages  of  society,"  in  the  last  fifty  years,  are  such 
as  to  encourage  the  hearts  of  all  who  rejoice  in  human  elevation. 

This  town  can  claim  the  credit  of  having  furnished  the  iustru- 


WESTHAMPTON   REUNION.  41 

nient  in  effecting  this  change.  No  man  did  more  to  revohi- 
tionize  public  opinion  on  this  subject,  than  Rev.  Dr.  Justin  Ed- 
wards, one  of  the  most  laborious  and  useful  men  that  this  coun^ 
try  ever  produced  As  agent  of  the  American  Temperance  So- 
ciety for  7  years,  he  became  the  active  spirit  and  leader  in  the 
work — in  short,  according  to  his  associates,  "  he  was  the  pivot 
upon  which  all  moved."  In  his  day,  more  than  7000  societies 
were  formed,  with  more  than  1,200,000  members.  More  than 
3000  distilleries  were  stopped  ;  and  over  7000  merchants  gave 
up  the  traffic. 

He  was  six  j'cars  President  of  the  Andover  Theological  Sem- 
inar}',  and  seven  j'ears  agent  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  the 
Observance  of  the  Sabbath.  He  was  one  of  the  "  Young  Eli- 
jahs," alluded  to  by  Rev.  Dr.  Griffin,  who,  "  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hoosac,  under  the  haj'stacks,  prayed  into  existence  the  em- 
bryo of  foreign  missions."  The  New  England,  afterwards 
merged  into  the  American  Tract  Society,  was  for  several  j^ears 
under  his  principal  direction.  All  of  his  aspirations  and  ener- 
gies were  devoted  to  the  elevation  of  the  huxnan  race.  "  Wis- 
dom in  council,  energy  in  action,  and  humility  in  life,"  were  his 
distinguishing  qualities. 

It  is  believed  that  no  man  in  this  country  has  done  more  than 
Dr.  Edwards  to  create  and  organize  those  working  institutions 
in  the  Church,  and  to  invoke  the  presence  of  the  Divine  Spirit 
in  them — that  constitute  her  educational  and  moral  forces  for 
the  evangelizing  of  the  world. 

The  population  of  Westhampton  was  in  1790,  683  ;  in  1800, 
756  ;  in  1810,  793  ;  in  1820,  89G  ;  in  1830,  913,  highest  num- 
ber ;  in  1840,  759  ;  in  1850,  602  ;  in  1860,  608.  Population  in  the 
United  States  doubles  every  22  j'Cars.  At  this  rate,  "Westhamp- 
ton  should  have  about  6000  inhabitants.  Instead  of  these  re- 
maining here,  they  are  difiused  throughout  the  country,  as  mis- 
sionaries, it  is  to  be  hoped,  of  the  principles  in  which  they  were 
educated. 

Through  the  influence  of  such  missionaries,  the  common 
school  system  of  New  England  has  been  planted  in  all  the 
North  Western  States,  and  in  many  of  the  other  states  of  the 
Union.  There  are  no  exports  so  valuable,  no  contributions 
from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another  so  enriching,  as  that 
of  intelligent  and  virtuous  men  and  women. 

The  small  towns  of  New  England  have  contributed  their  full 
share  to  the  mental  and  moral  forces,  which  shape  the  action  of 
the  body  politic. 

It  is  no  purpose  of  mine  to  give  anything  like  a  connected 
narrative  of  events  which  have  transpired  in  this  town.  Neith- 
er time  nor  the  materials  at  my  command,  would  admit  of  it. 
I  can  safely  leave  this  to  other,  and  more  competent  hands. 


42 


WESTHAMPTON   EEUNIOK. 


I  rejoice  in  tliis  opportunity  of  meeting  so  many  of  the  bretli- 
ren  and  sisters,  in  this,  my  native  town.  Let  us  render  thanks 
to  God  for  the  blessings  which  he  has  showered  upon  our  fath- 
ers, ourselves,  and  upon  our  children. 

There  were  established  among  the  Jews,  in  the  time  of  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  frequent  feasts.  The  feast  of  the  Tahernades 
was  commemorative  of  the  Divine  goodness  exercised  towards 
the  Jews  in  their  wanderings  in  the  desert,  and  to  return  thanks 
to  God  for  the  fruits  of  earth.  The  feast  of  Weelcs,  was  on  the 
occasion  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  wheat  harvest.  The  feast  of 
Ingatherinrj  was  when  they  had  gathered  in  the  labors  of  the 
field. 

On  these  occasions,  it  was  provided  that  off*erings  should  be 
made  to  the  Lord.  These  were  to  be  "offered  willingly,  and 
with  perfect  heart,  as  the  Lord  had  blessed  them."  It" was  de- 
clared by  the  prophet  that  those  not  going  up  to  the  feast  of 
tabernacles  should  receive  no  rain. 

On  an  occasion  so  interesting  and  so  impressive  as  that 
which  has  drawn  us  together,  may  we  not,  in  humble  imitation 
of  Scripture  usage,  regard  this  as  a  Scriptural  feast?  And  as 
such,  a  fitting  time  to  renew  our  vows  ;  to  render  our  oiferings 
to  the  Lord  ;  by  consecrating  anew  the  faculties  which  He  has 
given  us,  to  continue  and  to  perfect  the  work  which  He  confided 
to  our  fathers  ? 


WESTHAMPTON    EEUNION.  43 


POEM. 


BY   PROF.    M.    MONTAGUE. 

Far  wandevinc;  from  our  early  cradle  home. 

The  pressins;  fates  of  life  had  bid  us  roam; 

Along  the  city's  busy,  crowded  mart. 

We  had  walked  with  true  and  manly  heart ; 

In  the  fields  of  a  sunset  prairie  land, 

We  had  left  the  marks  of  a  toiler's  hand. 

East,  West,  and  North  and  South,  our  pathway  led. 

Where  hope,  betimes,  a  fond  ambition  fed. 

Till  other  altar  fires  and  hearth  stones  bright, 

Had  cheered  us  with  their  soft  and  sacred  light, 

Till  other  spots,  our  heart  had  grown  to  love — 

Endeared  homes,  with  many  a  nestling  dove. 

But  from  our  cradle  home,  our  childhood's  joy, 
Where  bounded  the  feet  of  the  growing  boy — 
Where  the  hand  of  our  mother  so  gentle  and  mild, 
In  blessing  was  laid  on  the  head  of  her  child — 
Where  the  hills  and  the  granite  stand  fast. 
While  the  years  in  silence  go  sweeping  past. 
Our  brothers  and  friends  invite  our  return. 
That  on  the  old  altars  new  incense  may  burn. 
And  fit  is  the  hour,  most  fit  is  the  day. 
When  at  these  shrines  our  offerings  we  lay, 
When  gathered  from  far  or  gathered  from  near. 
We  call  back  the  scenes  by  memory  held  dear. 
Our  country  is  rescued  from  treason  and  wrong. 
And  Freedom  and  Union  and  Right  be  our  song. 

Martial  drums  no  longer  beating. 
Tramp  of  war  no  more  is  heard  ; 

Hostile  bands  forget  their  meeting, 
Once  with  deadly  passions  stirred. 

Hushed  the  roar  and  storm  of  battle, 

Calm  the  valley  and  the  hill  ; 
Clashing  arms  no  longer  rattle 

While  yon  foemen,  foemen  kill. 

Gentle  peace  around  is  smiling. 
Sheathed  for  aye  the  blood-red  sword  ; 

Hero  soldiers  now  are  toiling, 
AVhere  the  fruits  of  earth  are  stored. 

Starving  brothers  in  the  prison. 
Which  the,hand  of  treason  reared. 

From  their  dying  death  uprisen. 
See  the  heavens  of  darkness  cleared. 

And  so  we  meet  beneath  the  Stars, 

Honor'd  symbol  of  the  free. 
While  trampled  lie  rebellion's  hnrs, 

Foul  type  of  slavery. 

And  while  my  muse  to-day  would  gladly  sing 
Of  Freedom's  holy  victories,  or  while  the  hill 


44  "NVESTHAJIPTON   REUXIOX. 

And  woods,  the  rocts  and  vales  and  brooks. 
Would  woo  a  song — or  early  household  scenes, 
The  festive  and  the  sad — the  winter's  storm. 
The  crackling  fire,  the  clover-scented  field — 
School-day  sports  and  school-day  tasks,  lend 
Their  inspiring  presence  ;  there  comes  athwart 
My  vision,  the  forms  of  noble  men,  whose  words 
And  lives  have  served  to  fashion  into 
Manly  stature,  the  growing  generations 
Of  this  goodly  town.    And  so  forgetting  not 
The  rare  delights  of  winter — Spring  in  bud 
And  bloom — or  Summer  with  its  toil, 
Or  Autumn  with  its  bending  fruit 
And  dress  of  brilliant  hues,  I  shall 
Essay  to  speak  of  men  whose  active  work 
Below,  is  ended — shepherds  here  to  feed 
The  sheep,  or  lead  to  living  fountains — 
Fountains  fresh  of  truth  and  knowledge. 
To  tell  in  full  the  story  of  those  sainted  men 
Who  daily  walked  along  these  beaten  paths. 
Who  watched  and  prayed,  and  preached  the  simple  word, 
Guiding  the  steps  of  youth  from  error's  way, 
Cheering  the  hopes  of  age  in  life's  decline, 
Pointing  manhood  to  the  richer  treasure 
Of  that  vast  inheritance  in  light  above — 
Humble,  patient,  trustful  in  the  promise 
That  the  weeping  sower  in  joy  should  reap 
The  richly  freighted  harvest  in  its  time — 
For  abler  pens  than  mine,  the  work  shall  wait. 
*    Mine  be  it,  but  in  outline  rude,  to  sketch 

Where  master  hands  might  paint  the  glowing  life. 

Adown  the  years  that  mark  the  opening  dawn 
Of  that  on-coming  day,  that  filled  these  hills 
And  vales  with  active  life,  when  holy  love 
Its  torch  first  lit  among  these  ancient  dwellings, 
Where  our  fathers  made  their  homes  and  died — 
At  the  very  threshold  of  the  town's  existence. 
Came  the  youthful  Hale — shepherd  of  the  sheep. 
With  cultured  mind,  his  soul  with  truth  imbued. 
He  sought  his  Master's  work  in  this  new  field. 
His  work  for  life — this  people  his,  till  death. 
Unlike  to  these  degenerate  days  of  ours, 
When  pastors  come  and  go,  as  come  and  go 
The  rapid  years.     Or  if  some  silver  bell. 
Perchance,  in  clearer  tones,  its  call  shall  give, 
Straightway  feel  an  urgent  sense  of  duty, 
To  use  their  talents  for  the  greater  good. 
And  in  some  larger  field  to  show  the  world, 
Th3.t  able  Shejthcrds,  able  flocks  mnsfhave. 

And  here  among  these  early  years, 
The  goodly  seed  was  sown.     Tlirough  Summer's  heat 
And  Winter's  cold,  the  master's  work  was  wrought; 
And  many  were  the  golden  sheaves  that  here 
The  reaper  bound  for  the  heavenly  garner. 
No  harsh  complaints  were  made  of  guilty  Achans, 
If  the  gracious  Spirit  long  delayed  its  showers. 
The  truth  was  uttered  with  a  simple  faith. 
And  left  to  Him  who  gives  the  timely  rain. 
This  was  the  golden  age  of  sovereign  grace. 
Alas  !  perchance  ye  daub  in  human  mortar. 
Who  look  to  see  the  temple  rise  within  a  day. 
No  easy  ways,  invented  then,  had  come. 
To  pour  their  grateful  benisons,  on  those 
Who  needed  milk.     But  the  solid  meat 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.  45 


Was  given  by  which  the  man  is  made  to  gvovr. 

So  Sunday  Schools — 

Heaven  bless  their  use  when  used  aright — 

Alas  !  too  often  true,  new  modes  to  idols  turn, 

And  leaser  means  are  seen  to  thrust  aside 

The  chief. ,  No  Sunday  Schools  importance  bore 

Above  the  preached  word.    Nor  books 

To  tell  of  fancied  angels,  in  the  garb 

Of  sweet-voiced  girls  and  loved  and  loving  boys, 

Who  went  to  sleep  so  early  in  this  night  of  lite. 

Or  larger  work,  in  which  a  grain  of  truth. 

So  thinly  beat,  with  ease,  was  made  to  lie 

On  ten  score  pages,  more  or  less.    Nor  novels — 

Name  profane — in  Christian  dress,  so  neat. 

Could  cheat  the  senses  of  the  soul  and  turn 

To  highly  seasoned  food,  most  rankest  poison — 

Poison,  if  perchance,  the  christen'd  name  were  wanting 

O  wondrous  alchemy  !  hidden  in  a  name. 

Transmuting  trash  to  healthful  Christian  food. 

No  days,  like  these,  were  then.     But  the  substance, 

The  Primer  was  a  royal  book  for  all. 

And  Watts'  Psalms  and  all  the  Shorter  Tatechism, 

And  well  digested  sermons,  from  the  pens 

Of  careful  thinkers — giants  in  their  time. 

In  truth,  these  were  the  dpys  to  work  and  wait. 

And  so  this  faithful  man  was  wont  to  toil. 

Preaching  the  word  and  by  example  guiding, 

Eeverenced  by  the  young,  honored  by  the  old — 

The  teacher,  guide  and  counsellor  of  all. 

Around  his  feet  the  young  men  gathered, 
While  his  lips  discoursed  of  Grecian  story. 
Or  made  the  Roman  forms  with  life  to  breathe, 
Kindled,  quickened  by  his  student  mind. 
Up  the  higher  heights  of  knowledge  many  climbed. 
To  pluck  the  wreaths  of  honor,  and  in  turn, 
To  send  their  influence  down  in  good  for  others. 
And  if  like  him,  whose  honored  name  he  bore. 
He  walked  with  God,  with  God  communion  held, 
No  early  fate's  translating  power,  e'er  came 
To  wing  him  for  celestial  realms.     But  long 
Among  these  roughened  paths  he  trod  and  toiled. 
Till  the  iron  frame  was  bent  and  his  scattered  locks 
Were  like  the  driven  snow,  and  with  tottering  limbs 
He  came  to  lay  him  down  to  sleep  among 
The  people  of  his  early  love.     Here  rest. 
For  two  score  3'ears  and  ten,  the  word 
Was  preached.    Glad  promise,  invitation  sweet. 
The  J^aw's  stern  claims  and  His  atoning  grace 
That  spans  the  heavens  with  Hope's  inspiring  brow — 
This  thy  work,  sainted  leader  of  the  tlock. 
And  while  around  thy  setting  sun,  were  seen 
The  leaden  clouds  to  gather,  far  beyond 
Thy  light  shall  shine,  dimless  on  the  nether  shore. 

And  now  my  vision  is  somewhat  clouded, 
The  sky  is  o'erspread,  and  the  air  is  rent 
With  the  turbulent  conflicts  of  passion. 
Let  us  pass  over  a  full  half  score  years — 
Perchance  it  is  more,  it  matters  not  much. 
Years  fruitful  of  good  for  that  glad  bright  morn. 
Born  of  it  a  night  of  darkness  and  8to«'m. 
Chapin  and  Urury  and  Truair,  this  day 
Are  living  in  those  whose  hearts  felt  the  touch 
Of  that  all  quickening  Spirit,  sent  to  bless 
The  word  by  faithful  messengers  proclaimed. 


46  AVESTHAMPTON    REIJNIOX. 


Eacli  able,  earnest,  zealous  for  the  truth — 

These,  firm  standing  by  the  old  landmarks, 

Planted  long  by  custom  and  tradition — 

He,  the  grand  disturbing  force,  resolute 

And  fearless,  and  defiant  of  all  forms. 

That  cramp  the  soul  in  its  high  search  for  good. 

Or  dwaif  it  to  a  pigmy  stature; — 

Perchance  e'en  reckless  of  those  golden  tablets 

Where  Jehovah  wrote  his  l^aw,  while  he  fain 

Rebukes  the  cursed  sin  of  mammon  worship; — 

Their^s,  a  Pulpit  and  a  House,  divinely 

Consecrate  to  the  holy  ministries  of  love, — 

His,  a  chapel  rude,  and  desk  uncomely. 

Where  the  anointing  oil  from  priestly  hands. 

In  order's  true  succession,  ne'er  had  dripped — 

No  more,  my  muse,  to.day.     Draw  down  the  veil, 

And  shut  without  the  noisy  battle  ground. 

Ah!  long  those  years,  when  by  these  sacred  altars, 

Peace  stood  with  folded  wing  and  tearful  eye. 

But  on  my  vision  now,  a  nob'er  sight, 
Beneath  the  verdant  sods,  where  the  willows 
Bending  low,  drop  their  dewey  tears  at  morn, 
Peaceful  sleep  those  toil  worn  brothers. 
Blinded  here  by  the  gossamer  films 
Of  Prejudice — there  light  divine  is  shed 
And  every  dimmed  eye  is  made  to  see. 
By  the  potent  power  of  holy  love. 
Discordant  here,  nor  understood,  champions 
For  what  each  deemed  as  right — lo  !  there  they  stand 
Amid  the  welcomes  of  that  marshalled  throng, 
Who  fought  the  goodly  fight  of  faith  on  Earth; 
And,  drinking  in  the  harmonies  of  heaven. 
They  honor  Him  who  sends  the  storm  to  give 
Acalmer.day. 

And  now 
The  clearer,  calmer,  brighter  day  had  come. 
In  the  early  spring  time,  when  the  flowers 
Are  fresh,  and  all  the  land  in  beauty  sleeps. 
Came  another  youthful  Shepherd,  with  his  young 
And  blooming  bride — came,  a  gift  from  heaven. 
Ready,  open,  stood  all  hearts  to  meet  him.- 
With  a  rare  and  glowing  eloquence  he  preached 
The  gracious  love  of  God  to  sinful  men. 
Gentle  were  his  tones.     But  the  kindling  eye 
Spoke  the  deep,  earnest  heai-t-throbs  of  a  soul 
That  sought  the  rich  reward  of  those  who  turn 
To  righteousness  the  erring  multitude. 
Around  him  breathed  the  atmosphere  of  love. 
With  a  wisdom  e'en  such  as  honors  age, 
He  knew  the  words  to  speak,  and  when,  and  where. 
Sweetly  tender,  when  the  hand  of  sorrow 
Brought  its  chalice  to  the  lips  of  any. 
He  won  all  hearts  by  the  mystic  chord 
Of  sympathy;  and  in  their  heart  of  hearts 
The  stricken  mourner,  shrined  a  friend. 
And  so  his  presence  was  a  living  joy 
In  every  household,  where  the  sufferer  dwelt. 
Nay  more.     In  all  these  homes,  or  high  or  low. 
The  faithful  Pastor  was  the  welcome  guest 
Ten  years  !    Alil  rapid  spin  the  Fate,  o/times, 
For  those  tchose  lives  on  earth  are  heautiful. 
Ten  years  !     And  though  the  simple  stone  is  reared, 
For  him  thatsleepeth — though  art  not  dead  to-day, 
My  brother,  friend,  our  own  beloved  Coggin. 
The  echo  of  thy  gentle  voice  is  heard 
Within  this  temple  gate.    And  the  memory 


■VVESTHAMrXOX    KEUNION. 

Of  thy  sweet  life,  e'en  down  to  other  .years, 

Shall  sure,  a  richly  freighted  blessing  bear. 

Sleep,  gentle  pair,  among  your  chosen  flock. 

What,  though  your  rising  sun  e'er  uoon  went  down. 

The  night  is  oio-s— resplendant  day  is  yours. 

And  as  we  stand  beside  thy  early  grave, 

Thy  calm,  benignant  face,  and  hers. 

The  partner  of  thy  toils  and  hopes,  impart 

A  fruitful  lesson— tell  us  how  sacred 

Is  the  union  that  binds  the  faithful  teacher 

To  his  flock,  that  from  his  words,  instruction 

Drink,  and  by  these  words,  in  virtue  grow. 

And  though  in  higher  spheres  the  Master  plans 

Thy  present  work,  the  seed  that  thou  didst  sow 

Inhuman  hearts  is  bearing  precious  fruit, 

An  hundred  fold. 

Of  living  teachers  who  the  word  have  spoken, 
Through  the  years  since  then  and  now,  pass  we  by. 
For  their  zeal  and  love  and  honest  labor. 
When  they  toil  on  earth  no  longer,  shall  find 
Beyond,  that  here  they  did  not  toil  for  naught. 

,  But  now  there  comes 

To  move  mv  pen,  thoughts  of  one  other  form — 
Too  soon,  for  us  who  linger  here,  removed.    His, 
Was  a  sacred  ofiBce,  high  and  holy. 
Though  the  vestments  of  priestly  order 
Proclaimed  his  separation  for  the  altars 
Of  the  temple,  yet  his  was  a  service 
Whose  results  e'en  now,  are  felt  like  living  springs 
Amid  the  arid  sands.    To-day  he  lives. 
Though  numbered  long  among  the  sainted  dead. 
Modest  and  shrinking  from  the  gaze  of  men, 
He  loved  retirement.     Books  were  daily  tood. 
In  the  love  of  study,  study  had  no  task. 
And  by  patient  toil,  his  mind  was  rich 
In  stores  of  knowledge.     The  slender  casket 
That  bore  a  jewel  of  such  worth,  ofttimes. 
Seemed  yielding.     And  the  gloom  of  a  dark  night 
Pressed  down  his  spirit.     And  those  golden  heights, 
Which  once  he  hoped  to  reach,  and  the  arena 
Of  the  college,  where  he  fain  would  wrestle, 
Dear  like  the  heart's  life,  were  relinquished  all. 
Yet  so  was  study  not  relinquished. 
His  was  an  ambition  that  lives  and  grows 
AVithout  applause.    To  know  what  lies  beyond. 
His  noble  aim.     And  so  he  wrought  among 
His  books;  and  little  known  the  v\hile,  grew 
An  earnest  scholar.     Accurate  in  forms. 
In  method  clear,— with  a  culture  true  as  rare, — 
With  a  diffidence  that  made  no  bold  pretense,— 
Precise  in  all  the  movements  of  the  body. 
In  the  neatness  of  his  person,  unexcelled. 
The  example  of  his  daily  maxim — 
"A  place  for  everything,  and  every  thing  in'place," 
He  came  to  be  our  teacher,  and  our  guide 
In  the  road  to  knowledge.     And  he  led  us. 
Straightway,  to  the  inviting  fields,  where  his  feet 
Had  often  strayed,  and  to  perennial  springs, 
Where  his  thirsting  soul  had  often  drunk. 
Gentle,  faithful  Dickinson.     ABection 
Weaves  to-day  a  garland  for  thy  memory. 
And  while  now  on  the  summit  of  life's  pathway. 
We  look  back  along  the  vanished  yeais, 
We  see,  not  dimly,  how  the  influence 


47 


48  WESTHAMPTON    REUNION. 

Of  thy  enlvindled  mind,  at  every  stage, 

Has  met  us;  and  we  have  ever  toiled 

With  fresher  courage  for  noble  lessons 

Taught  to  us  from  tliine  inspiring  lips. 

Such  lives,  such  teachers  never  die.     They  live, 

Though  the  mound  has  disappeared,  and  the  moss 

Has  thick  o'ergrown  the  name  once  chisseled 

On  the  slab.     They  live,  the  germs  of  other  lives. 

They  live — live  woven  in  the  very  texture 

Of  the  souls  they  helped  to  form.     Thoa  livest; 

And  thy  teaching  work  shall  be  complete 

When  all  thy  pupils'  pupils,  theirs  shall  end. 

And  in  these  meagre  tributes  to  departed  worth, 
One  other  name  shall  be  embalmed.    A  name. 
That  well  may  stand  among  the  honored  worthies. 
His  was  not  the  tongue  of  eloquence, 
Nor  was  the  gift  of  ease  and  grace,  bestowed 
In  rare  abundance.     But  in  all  the  pulpits 
Of  this  favored  region,  scarce  were  found  those 
Whose  pens  were  abler,  and  whose  thoughts  could  stand 
The  test  of  a  sterner  logic.    He  wrote 
With  an  elegance  of  style  and  fitness 
Of  expression  that  charmed  the  cultured  ear, 
And  with  a  cleaiuess  all  could  comprehend. 
He  followed  in  no  beaten  track.     He  said 
What  he  himself  had  seen — what  he  had  read 
In  the  clear  reasonings  of  an  earnest  mind. 
Not  always  valued  for  his  real  worth, 
His  spirit  bore  no  bitterness  to  any. 
His  master's  work  was  his.     No  toil  was  shunned. 
That  honor  to  redeeming  grace  should  bring. 
Within  his  chosen  fields,  he  labored  on 
With  an  ardor  that  tired  not  till  the  end 
Had  come.     And  that  waiting  soul  looked  out 
With  yearnings  unutterable,  to  .see 
The  breaking  dawn  of  that  long  promised  day. 
When  Judah's  King  should  come  to  reign  among 
His  ransomed  people;  and  the  glorious  throne 
Should  here  on  earth  be  built,  and  in  the  hands 
Of  Him  whose  blood  once  rent  the  temple  veil, 
No  symbol  sceptre  should  be  swayed. 
E'er  this,  may  ftc,  he  reads  the  unclasped  scroll 
With  clearer  eye;  and  from  those  ancient 
Hebrew  seers,  gains  a  truer,  broader  view 
Of  that  all  conquering  Power,  which  to  his  feet 
Shall  bring  rebellious  nations,  and  send 
The  choral  sound  of  Peace  o'er  all  the  earth. 
Till  his  work  was  done  he  faltered  not. 
But  now  he  needed  rest.     And  where,  for  this 
A  fitter  place,  than  by  his  mother's  side. 
And  in  the  shadows  of  those  beetling  hills. 
Where  childhood  played.     And  so  he  came  to  rest. 
Ah,  yes.     Our  brother  Judd  has  found  his  blessed  rest. 
His  life  was  gentle  as  some  peaceful  river. 
Fed  by  living  springs,  on  whose  banks  are  seen 
Perpetual  verdure  and  ever  blooming  flowers — 
Where  the  trees  that  fleck  the  placid  waters 
With  tl^s^ir  shifting  shadows,  are  filled 
With  woodland  music. 

In  the  ocean  wide 
The  stream  is  lost.    No,  not  wholly  lost. 
As  the  sun's  attractive  power  weds 
The  ocean  to  the  cloud ,  which  breaks  in  blessings 
On  the  land;  so.  the  influence  of  thy  pure  life, 


WESTHAMPTON   REUNION.  49 

Shall,  like  the  sho-(vers,  bestow  its  hidden  wealth 
On  weary  travelers,  in  life's  desert  road. 

Nor  these  alone,  who  lead  the  way  to  truth 
And  knowledge,  in  our  hearts  shall  live. 
But  highest  honor  will  he  ever  give 
To  those  brave  hearted  men — to  each,  to  all. 
Who  battled  with  these  rugged  hills— who  fought 
The  stones  and  rocks — the  forests  thick  and  wild — 
Who  BAKED  to  make  a  home  in  such  a  spot; 
Aye,  more — who  made  a  temple  in  each  home. 
Yes,  all  honor  to  those  early  fathers,  who  sent 
The  restlese  vigor  of  their  own  strong  life 
To  course  the  veins  of  later  generations. 

And  now,  I  muse  along  these  time  worn  paths, 
And  wander  o'er  these  rocky,  native  hills. 
In  search  of  homes,  that  erst  in  childhood's  dawn, 
With  mirth  and  song  and  love  and  loving  hearts. 
Were  filled.    I  search  among  decaying  ruins. 
The  moss  grown  well  is  choked  with  hated  weeds. 
The  orchard,  hung  with  luscious  fruit,  is  dead. 
The  flowers  that  bloomed  around  the  doors. 
And  where  the  bee  its  honey  sipped,  are  gone. 
The  garden,  where  the  sisters  played,  and  where 
They  wove  bright  garlands  for  some  May  day  morn. 
Is  platted  thick  with  grass  and  tangled  briars. 
And  all  those  forms  that  gave  to  home  its  bliss. 
Have  vanished,  gathered  one  by  one,  to  sleep 
In  dust,  with  generations  gone  before. 

And  then — oh  wanton  desecration. 

As  of  walking  on  some  new  made  grave — 

The  nibbling  sheep  and  browsing  ox 

Are  treading  on  that  sacred  spot,  where 

First  for  me  the  gates  of  life  were  open  thrown, 

Where  mothers  blessed  full  many  a  natal  hour — 

■\\'here  the  merry  song,  or  the  heart's  deep, 

MufHed  wail,  so  oft  were  heard — 

These  to  speak  the  bridal,  those  the  burial  days. 

But  o'er  these  perished  homes  I  may  not  grieve— 

These  ruins,  as  with  index  finger. 

Point  to  newer,  fresher  forms  of  life. 

And  other  homes  of  love,  where  the  bloom 

And  fragrance  of  the  flowers  still  live. 

Decaying,  changing,  growing.     Such  is  life. 

Those  early  fathers  and  those  blessed  mothers, 

Come  not  here  to-day.    Their  house  no  longer  stands. 

They  have  not  heard  the  call  that  summons 

Their  children  from  far  and  near,  to  meet 

In  this  glad  reunion.    And  yet  they  live. 

And  wait  the  ushering  of  that  other  day, 

When  the  portals  of  yon  silent  city 

Shall  be  unlocked  by  angel  bands. 

When  all  the  ruins  of  this  mortal  life. 

Built  up,  shall  stand  amid  the  freshness 

And  beauty  of  the  immortal, 

In  the  ever  blessed  Reunions  of  Heaven. 

Home  of  our  childhood,  home  of  our  youth, 
Live  on.     We  will  love  thee,  and  think  of  thee 
In  our  other  homes — 

And  from  thine  inspiring  presence,  will  draw 
A  fresher  courage  for  our  toilsome  road. 

So  a  blessing,  ever  resting. 

Be  thine  alway; 
Then  that  meeting,  joyful  greeting. 
In  yon  bright  day. 


^^      .  ^VESTHAMPTOK  REUNION. 


THE   DINNER. 


At  the  close  of  the  exercises  in  the  church,  the  audience  and 
others,  numbering  about  six  hundred  guests,  repaired  to  the  Pa- 
vihon  which  had  been  extemporized  for  the  purpose,  and  sat 
down  to  a  bountiful  collation  prepared  by  the  citizens  of  the 
town.  The  Pavilion  was  tastefully  decorated  with  evergreens, 
wrought  into  wreaths,  festoons,  &c.,  and  on  the  front  was  dis- 
played m  large  capitals  the  warm  invitation, 

"welcome  home." 
Ezra  Munson  Kingsley,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  presided  at  the 
tables  with  his  accustomed  urbanity  and  grace,  and  by  his  ap- 
propriate introduction  of  the  speakers  imparted  great  additional 
intei^st  to  the  occasion.  "  The  feast  of  reason  and  the  flow  of 
soul     were  commenced  by  the  President  with  the  followino- 

address. 

al  fo'^dw  «f^f '^^^^»^«'V'~^.'"J^^^^  ''''^'''^  ^^»«t  be  the  individu- 
tl.fP-  '",^;^0'^«,,^«^"^^  originated  the  felicitous  thouo-ht  which 
has  culminated  in  the  scenes  and  festivities  of  this  hour. 

J^rom  divers  pursmts  and  from  widely  scattered  homes     re 

loved  ones  whose  faces  we  shall  see  on  earth  no  more     to  revive 

and  perpetuate  the  acquaintances  and  friendships  of  oiu'early 

soS;:;y.''  ^^^^^--^^-1  fountains  to  fill  aU  oiTcu;  o"^ 

It  is  fittiiig,  on  such  an  occasion,  that  we  devoutly  recoo-nize 

us\SS^r;t"l?^-^'f  ^"^^^  ''^'  sustained^dbronigh 
us  nitheito,  and  humbly  invoke  His  blessino-  * 

He  then  requested  the  Rev.  George  Lym^n  of  Sutton,  to  lead 
in  this  act  of  devotion. 

The  collation  was  sumptuous;  and  after  the  long  session  in 
the  church,  the  President  suggested  that  certain  "  internal  im- 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNIOX.  51 

provements  "  had  become  a  matter  of  nrgeut  necessity,  and  to 
them  he  desired  the  guests  to  give  their  immediate  and  undi- 
A'ided  attention. 

After  the  banquet  was  over,  the  President  proceeded,  with 
due  deliberation  as  to  the  consequences,  to  "  uncork  the  natives." 

Eev.  Tertius  S.  Clarke,  D.  D.,  of  Cuyahoga  Falls,  Ohio,  was 
first  called  up. 

He  had  a  stor}'  to  tell.  When  he  was  a  boy  in  Westhampton, 
he,,  like  all  the  other  lads,  was  profoundly  impressed  by  the 
great  head  of  Squire  Judd.  The  Squire  wap  the  maker  and  ex- 
pounder of  the  common  law  in  the  toAvn,  and  many  looked  up 
to  him  with  the  greatest  veneration  and  awe.  An  incident  oc- 
curred in  the  old  meeting  house.  Tythingmen  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  keep  the  boj's  in  order  in  the  galleries.  On  one  oc- 
casion, his  strong  propensity  to  laugh  came  very  near  plunging 
him  into  the  deepest  disgrace  and  ruin.  One  of  the  tythingmen 
sported  a  large  bandanna  handkerchief,  which  he  used  to  pull 
from  his  pocket  on  blowing  his  nose,  which  he  did  very  frequent- 
ly, and  with  a  loud  noise.  One  of  the  boj's,  observing  this  fre- 
quent use  of  the  immense  "  wiper,"  and  wishing  to  have  a  little 
sport  even  in  "meeting  time,"  brought  a  pint  of  beans,  and 
poured  them  into  the  man's  pocket,  on  the  top  of  the  handker- 
chief, one  end  of  which  was  hanging  outside.  The  explosion 
soon  occurred.  The  bandanna  was  suddenly  pulled,  the  beans 
flew  in  all  directions,  and  the  church  was  thrown  into  great  com- 
motion. The  boy  who  put  the  beans  into  the  pocket  maintained 
the  most  imperturable  gravit}^,  while  the  boy  Tertius  burst  out 
into  a  shout  of  laughter,  being  utterly  unable  to  "  hold  in." 
The  tythingman  soon  appeared  and  arrested  the  laughing  lad, 
as  the  author  of  all  the  mischief.  He  was  taken  before  Squire 
Judd,  in  a  state  of  awful  fear  and  trembling.  Most  unexpect- 
edly his  life  was  spared,  and  he  was  let  off  with  a  reprimand 
never  to  do  so  again.  He  promised  he  would  not,  provided  the 
hoys  did  not  bring  any  more  beans. 

He  also  spoke  of  the  pra3'ers  he  used  to  hear,  which  were  often 
an  hour  in  length,  and  though  he  was  tired  out  and  out  again, 
he  had  the  deepest  respect  for  the  veteran  christians  of  those  by- 
gone daj's. 

This  called  the  President  to  his  feet.  He  could  no  more  "  hold 
in"  than  the  j-outhful  Tertius,  and  he  must  -'tell  a  story,"  too.  In 
those  good  old  times,  he  said,  the  schools  were  alwa^'s  opened 
with  prayer,  and  the  masters  had  to  "  watch"  as  well  as  "  pra}'." 
On  one  occasion,  while  the  prayer  was  being  made,  an  undevout 
boy  was  in  the  act  of  making  some  distui'bance.  The  master 
4 


52  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

stopped  his  prayer,  caught  the  bo}'  by  the  collar,  brought  him 
iuto  the  middle  of  the  room,  gave  him  a  good  sound  flogging, 
and  then  resumed  his  praying  where  he  left  off ! 

Zenas  M.  Phelps,  Esq.,  of  Riverdale,  N.  Y.,  was  next  inti'o- 
duced,  and  said : 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — ^Public  speaking  is 
no  part  of  m}'^  profession,  and  I  know  not  that  I  can  say  any 
thing  of  interest  on  this  occasion.  Much  has  been  well  said  in 
the  historical  address  to  which  we  have  listened,  and  in  the 
beautiful  and  touching  poem  by  Prof.  Montague  ;  and  for  my- 
self, I  feel  much  obliged  to  our  learned  friends  for  their  produc- 
tions, which  I  hope  will  be  printed  and  handed  down  for  the 
instruction  of  posterit3\ 

In  tracing  back  the  family  to  which  I  belong,  through  more 
than  seven  generations,  so  far  as  I  have  ascertained,  no  one  of 
them  has  been  convicted  of  horse-stealing,  of  treason,  or  mur- 
der ;  no  one  has  been  a  tor^',  a  rebel,  or  a  copperhead.  I  am 
happ3'  to  say  that  it  has  been  an  honest,  industrious,  peaceable 
family  ;  generally  intelligent,  thoughtful  and  religious  ;  true  to 
its  own  convictions  of  truth  and  duty,  and  always  on  the  side 
of  liberty  and  law,  both  in  the  church  and  in  the  state. 

My  grandfather,  Timothy  Phelps,  settled  in  this  town  in  1775, 
and  shared  in  its  privations,  hardships  and  dangers.  At  first, 
he  made  this  place  his  summer  residence,  coming  out  from 
Northampton  carl}'  in  the  spring,  and  returning  late  in  the  fall 
through  fear  of  the  Indians,  and  various  wild  beasts.  I  have  of- 
ten heard  my  grandmother  say  that  she  came  from  Northamp- 
ton, with  her  infant  son  Timoth}-  and  a  calf  on  the  same  sled, 
while  the  cow  was  tied  to  a  stake  Ijehind  the  sled,  drawn  by  a 
yoke  of  oxen. 

My  grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
and  took  part  in  putting  down  the  Shays  rebellion.  M}^  grand- 
mother was  a  very  religious  woman,  and  sometimes  had  charge 
of  us  boys  on  Sundaj-s,  and  did  what  she  could  to  keep  us  quiet 
and  good.  She  told  us  scripture  stories  and  taught  us  "Watt's 
Psalms  and  Hymns,  and  the  Catechism.  She  frequentl}^  told  us 
of  the  two  she  bears  that  tore  forty-two  children,  in  the  days  of 
Elisha,  and  easily  made  us  believe  that  there  were  two  more,  in 
the  woods  back  of  the  house,  that  would  tear  us,  if  we  played, 
Sunday.  I  was  for  a  long  time  afraid  of  those  two  bears,  and 
kept  pretty  quiet  Sundays,  I  suppose  ;  but  as  my  mind  became 
more  mature,  and  the  woods  were  cleared  up  and  light  let  in  on 
the  subject,  the  fear  of  the  bears,  and  of  many  other  dreadful 
things,  gradually  died  away. 

She  had  a  way  in  which  to  encourage  us  to  read  the  New 
Testament,  which  I  mention  for  the  benefit  of  other  grandmoth- 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.  53 

ers  who  stay  at  home  with  their  grandchildren.  In  case  we 
read  two  chapters  well  in  the  New  Testament,  she  would  allow 
us  to  read  one  story  in  her  large  Bible  in  the  Apocr3-pha.  In 
this  way,  while  yet  boys,  in  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
New  Testament,  we  learned  about  Tobit  the  son  of  Tobiel ;  of 
Judith  of  "goodly  countenance  and  very  beautiful  to  behold;" 
of  Baruch  and  Susanna  ;  of  Bel  and  the  Dragon,  and  of  the  he- 
roic Maccabees.  Although  she  was  very  religious  and  circum- 
spect in  her  waj^s,  she  never  attained  to  the  assurance  of  faith, 
till  a  short  time  before  her  death.  Then  she  had  no  more  doubts, 
and  was  bright  and  beautiful,  and  she  gentlj'  passed  awa}''  in 
the  full  confidence  of  a  glorious  immortality. 

Jonathan  Phelps,  the  son  of  mj'  uncle  Timothy,  was  the  fa- 
ther of  a  son  who  became  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of  libert}'. 
Jonathan  "Walker  Phelps,  inspired  1)}-  a  love  of  liberty,  enrolled 
himself  among  the  patriots  of  his  country,  and  sacrificed  his  life 
in  putting  down  the  late  most  wicked  rebellion,  and  upholding 
the  most  beneficent  government  the  sun  ever  shone  upon.  He 
fell  in  the  darkest  and  most  gloom}^  da3-s  of  the  Republic,  pour- 
ing out  his  3"0uthful  blood  for  his  country,  as  Webster  sa^'s  of 
Dr.  Warren,  before  he  knew  whether  it  would  fertilize  a  land  of 
freedom  or  of  bondage.  Noble,  youthful  hero!  He  fell  too 
soon  for  his  family — too  soon  for  glor^' ;  but  not  too  soon  for 
his  country.  She  required  costly  sacrifices,  and  he  gave  her  his 
all.  Thj'  memory  shall  remain  fresh  in  our  hearts,  and  thy  no- 
ble example  shall  be  handed  down  in  the  family  as  a  rich  leg- 
acy of  patriotism  and  devotion. 

My  father  settled  here  on  the  old  homestead,  and  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  During  the  winter  months  he  often  taught 
school,  and  always  with  success.  But  circumstances  overruled 
his  inclinations,  and  compelled  him  to  engage  in  pursuits  for 
which  he  had  little  aptitude,  and  less  disposition.  In  religion, 
he  was  a  moderate  Calvinist ;  in  the  state,  a  Whig.  Our  mother 
survived  him  many  years,  to  instruct  us  b}^  her  counsels,  and  to 
enrich  us  by  her  life. 

Five  of  their  eight  children  remain,  and  are  here  to-day  to 
participate  in  this  grand  Reunion — in  these  sad  and  joyful  mem- 
ories. Here  was  our  earl}-  home.  Here  our  thoughts  delight  to 
linger,  and  around  this  spot  cluster  many  dear  and  sacred  asso- 
ciations and  meinories.  We  love  to  come  here,  and  go  over  the 
scenes  of  other  days.  We  are  not  ashamed  of  our  old  native 
town,  and  we  mean  so  to  live  that  she  shall  not  be  ashamed  of 
us.  She  has  a  noble  record,  and  may  safely  challenge  compari- 
son with  any  other  town  of  her  size,  in  industrj-,  intelligence, 
patriotism  and  religion.  She  has  always  been  true  to  the  great 
cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  has  steadfastly  believed 
and  fully  vindicated  the  doctrine  of  a  "  church  without  a  bishop, 
and  a  state  without  a  king." 


54  WESTHAMPTOX    REUNION. 

Ill  the  late  dreadful  conflict  of  principles  and  of  arms,  she 
was  not  wanting  in  duty  and  devotion  to  the  Repu1)lic,  and  in 
the  great  work  of  Reconstruction,  she  will  not  abandon  the  great 
principles  for  which  she  fought,  nor  her  tried  and  faithful  allies 
in  the  South,  to  follow  the  counsels  of  a  man  who  is  making 
Union  odious  and  Rehellion  honorable;  who  promised  to  be  the 
Moses  of  the  Freedmen,  but  who  is  fast  becoming  the  old  Plia- 
roah  of  Egypt.  No,  m}*  fellow  townsmen.  Stand  fast  by  the 
loyal,  Union  men  of  the  country.  Let  not  the  government  be 
reconstructed  in  the  interests  of  treason  and  rebellion,  of  bar- 
barism and  slavery ;  but  in  the  interests  of  loyalty  and  consti- 
tutional liberty  ;  of  universal  education  and  impartial  suffrage, 
and  equal  rights  to  all ;  on  the  hard  and  solid  basis  of  justice, 
of  humanity,  and  of  God.  This  accomplished,  we  shall  be  pre- 
pared for  the  mission  which  Divine  Providence  is  opening  upon 
us,  and  the  Great  Republic,  disenthralled  and  regenerated,  in- 
spired and  guided  by  the  spirit  and  pi'inciples  of  Christianity, 
shall  move  forwaixl  in  the  path  of  true  glory  and  the  grandest, 
noblest  aclijevements. 

"Westward  the  star  of  empire  takes  its  way; 
The  first  four  acts  already  past, 
The  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day; 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 

Otis  Clapp,  Esq.,  said  some  of  us  would  like  to  hear  from  the 
gentleman  who  first  suggested  the  idea  of  this  Reunion,  Rev. 
George  Lyman.    Mr.  Lyman  responded,  in  substance,  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — As  the  gentleman 
who  has  called  me  up,  has  given  me  the  credit  of  suggesting  the 
idea  of  this  meeting,  you  will  permit  me  to  say  a  few  w'ords  by 
way  of  explanation.  Some  time  since,  in  a  conversation  with 
my  friend  who  has  the  honor  of  presiding  on  this  occasion,  held 
at  his  store  in  the  city  of  New  York,  I  suggested  to  him  such  a 
meeting  as  this.  He  entered  into  it  at  once, with  his  characteris- 
tic ardor.  But,  for  reasons  Avhich  need  not  be  mentioned  here, 
the  project  failed  at  that  time. 

A  little  more  than  a  year  ago,  on  my  way  to  Saratoga,  I  fell 
in  with  my  friend  Rev.  L.  F.  Clark,  and  with  Mr.  Clapp,  whom 
I  had  not  seen  for  many  years,  both  of  whom  had  just  come 
from  a  visit  to  Westhampton.  Conversation  turning  on  the 
good  old  tow^n,  the  idea  of  a  meeting  of  this  kind  was  again 
suggested,  and  became  a  subject  of  remark.  A  day  or  two  af- 
ter, as  we  met  at  Saratoga,  Mr.  Clapp  said  to  me  that  he  had 
been  thinking  a  good  deal  on  the  subject  of  our  previous  conver- 
sation, and  thought  the  i)roject  might  be  carried  into  effect.  Af- 
ter his  return  to  Boston,  he  commenced  a  correspondence  on  the 
subject.     And  his  persistent  efforts,  under   some   discourage- 


^VESTHAMPTOX     KEUXIOX.  55 

ments,  were  at  length  crowned  with  success.  .  Though  the  idea 
of  this  Reunion  ma}'  have  been  first  suggested  by  me,  the  credit 
of  carrying  it  into  execution  belongs  to  Mr.  Clapp  himself, 
rather  than  to  me.  "  Honor  to  whom  honor  is  due."  Thus 
much  as  to  the  origin  of  this  Reunion. 

This,  sir,  is  a  memorable  day  to  us,  who  are  here  assembled, 
and  to  all  the  people  of  this  town.  We,  who  have  gone  out 
from  here,  have  come  up  to  our  Jerusalem,  our  holy  mother,  our 
alma  mater,  as  much  so  as  the  college  is  the  alma  mater  of  the 
student — to  our  old  hearth-stones  and  altars  of  worship,  and  to 
the  graves  of  our  fathers,  to  exchange  greetings  with  each  other, 
to  reuew  the  memories  of  other  da^-s,  and  to  rekindle  the  fires 
of  filial  devotion.  We  have  come,  some  of  us,  with  our  wives 
and  children,  as  the  tribes  of  Israel  went  up  to  their  Jerusalem. 
We  would  teach  our  children  to  love  the  birthplace  of  their  fa- 
thers and  mothers.  We  have  come  with  somewhat  of  that  rev- 
erent and  holy  love,  with  which  the  pious  Israelites  went  up  to 
their  Zion,  on  their  great  festal  da3's.  Though  this  large  assem- 
bly is  made  up  of  man}'  families  and  parts  of  families,  coming 
from  various  places  and  from  different  directions,  from  the 
north  and  from  the  south,  from  the  east  and  from  the  west,  yet 
we  meet  here  as  one  family,  children  of  one  mother,  around 
these  tables  which  she  has  bountifull}-  spread  for  us.  And  here, 
in  this  family  meeting  around  our  mother's  table,  we  may  talk 
freely  and  familiarl}'  together  on  matters  and  things  in  which 
we  have  a  common  interest.  Outsiders,  who  are  not  of  the  fam- 
ih',  may  listen,  but  may  uot  criticise. 

Well  then,  after  these  preliminary  remarks,  I  begin,  as  lovers 
are  expected  to  do,  by  declaring  my  love  for  this  my  native 
town,  and  3'our  native  town.  I  could  uot  respect  myself  if  I 
did  not  love  the  mother  that  gave  me  birth,  and  uourished  my 
infancy  and  childhood.  I  love  these  rugged  hills  and  moun- 
tains, these  woods  and  granite  rocks,  and  these  pure,  sparkling 
streams.  And,  in  sajdng  this,  I  utter  the  common  sentiment 
and  feeling  of  all  true  and  worthy  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
town. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  sons  of  this  town,  as  a  literary 
man,  the  late  Rev.  Sylvester  Judd,  author  of  "Margaret,"  and 
other  works  of  fiction  of  acknowledged  abilitj',  whose  home,  af- 
ter his  ninth  3'ear,  was  in  Xorthampton,  once  wrote  to  a  friend 
as  follows  : — "  I  always  loved  Westhampton.  All  m}'  youth 
centres  there.  Northampton  is  nothing  to  me.  I  seem  never  to 
have  lived  there.  In  Westhampton  I  did  live.  I  could  die 
there."  This  extract  is  preserved  in  his  published  "  Life  and 
Character,"  written  by  Miss  Arethusa  Hall.  My  heart  responds, 
and  your  hearts,  I  doubt  not,  respond  to  these  sentiments. 

I  have  reason  to  love  Westhampton.     It  is  not  only  my  birth- 


56  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

place  and  the  birthplace  of  my  wife,  but  the  birthplace  of  my 
parents  and  her  parents  also.  And  there,  in  yonder  church- 
3'ard,  they  all  lie,  with  our  grand-parents  also,  on  both  sides, 
along  with  other  kindred  and  friends,  and  school  mates  not  a 
few.  And  there,  too,  are  three  little  graves,  dearer  than  all 
others. 

''Seven  are  we; " 
"Three  of  us  in  the  church-yard  lie," 
And  four  are  present  here. 

There  is. not,  in  the  Avide  world,  a  spot  so  dear  to  me  as  this, 
which  holds  the  precious  dust  of  so  many  loved  ones. 

A  thousand  2)leasant  as  well  as  sad  recollections  cluster  around 
this  home  of  our  childhood,  and  endear  it  to  us.  They  come 
up  before  me  to-day,  crowding  full  the  chambers  of  memory. 

The  old  school  house  yonder,  now  converted  into  a  store,  how 
many  memories  gather  around  it ;  the  teachers  with  their  vari- 
ous modes  of  discipline  and  ingenious  punishments  ;  and  the 
schoolmates  and  classmates,  too,  sitting  with  folded  hands,  on 
the  straight-backed  benches  ;  and  the  boyish  sports  at  "  play- 
time "  and  "  noon-time,"  hide-and-seek  around  the  old  meeting 
house,  and  in  the  horse  sheds,  and  the  mimic  training  and  sham 
lights,  with  dr}^  mullein  stalks  for  guns.  The  militia  trainings, 
too,  with  the  wrestling  matches  and  l^all  games  on  the  very  spot 
covered  by  this  Pavilion  ;  and,  last  but  not  least,  the  Thanksgiv- 
ing festival,  the  great  feast  of  the  3'ear,  with  its  happy  family 
gatherings  at  the  old  homestead,  and  the  social  cheer,  and  the 
elaborate  dinner  of  roast  beef  and  pork,  and  turkeys  and  chick- 
en pie,  and  pumpkin  pie,  and  plumb  pudding,  ending — in  the 
days  before  the  temperance  reform — with  the  mug  of  flip,  and 
followed  with  the  family  praj-er,  offered  by  the  venerable  patri- 
arch of  the  family  ;  with  the  turkej'  shootings,  the  day  before 
and  the  day  after  Thanksgiving,  at  Norton's  tavern  ;  and  the 
sleigh  rides,  and  evening  parties  and  pla^^s — all  these  pleasant 
memories  abide  with  us  in  all  our  wanderings,  and  come  back 
with  us  to-day,  Avith  renewed  freshness,  gladdening  our  hearts, 
and  shedding  light  and  beauty  over  these  rock-bound  hills,  and 
these  humble  dwellings. 

"Oftin  the  stilly  night, 

Ere  slumber's  chain  has  bound  me. 
Fond  memory  brings  the  light 

Of  other  days  around  me. 

The  smiles,  the  tears  of  boyhood's  years, 

The  words  of  love  then  spoken, 
The  eyes  that  shone,  now  dimmed  and  gone. 

The  cheerful  hearts  now  broken." 

The  fathers,  too,  of  the  olden  time — we  cannot  forget  tliem 
to-day  ;  those  good  men  and  true,  Deacon  Edwards,  Major  Fish- 


"WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.  57 

er,  Capt.  Lyman,  Capt.  Cook,  Mr.  Wales,  and  others,  who  used 
to  meet,  some  of  them  with  their  wives,  at  my  grandfather 
Judd's,  On  Sunda}^  noons,  and  talk  of  the  weather,  the  births 
and  deaths  and  marriages,  of  nothing  more  secular,  and  discuss 
the  sermon  over  their  nutcakes  and  cheese,  and  their  tobacco 
pipes  from  the  old  red  basket,  which  it  Avas  my  duty  to  bring 
forth  and  set  before  them.  These  men  were  men  of  God,  men  of 
faith  and  prayer,  who  loved  the  house  of  God,  from  which  rain 
and  snow  and  wind  seldom  detained  them.  I  remember,  at  one 
of  the  Sunday  noon  meetings  of  which  I  have  spoken,  hearing 
Deacon  Edwards  say,  when  speaking  of  his  having  been  kept 
from  church  the  vSabbath  previous  by  snow  drifts,  which  it  was 
found  impossi])le  to  break  through,  that  he  had  been  absent  from 
church  but  once  before  for  more  than  twenty  years.  I  used  to 
look  upon  him  and  upon  others  of  those  good  old  men,  with  pro- 
found veneration  and  awe.  Deacon  Edwards  was  one  of  the 
politest  men  I  ever  knew.  He  used  to  bow  very  gracefully  to 
everybody  whom  he  met,  children  as  well  others.  Indeed,  in 
point  of  manners,  those  times  were  better  than  these.  Boj's 
then  Avere  tcnigid  manners,  and  were  accustomed  to  take  off  their 
hats  and  bow  to  their  elders  when  they  passed  them  in  the 
streets  ;  and  on  going  out  of  the  school  house,  at  the  close  of 
the  school,  we  always  turned  square  round  and  made  our  bow 
to  the  teacher. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  Puritan  faith  of  our  fathers 
was  a  sad  faith,  and  tended  to  make  them  unsocial  and  gloomy. 
But  these  men  were  neither  unsocial  nor  gloomy.  They  were 
thoughtful,  serious  men ;  but  at  the  same  time  Avere  social,  cheer- 
ful, genial.  So  they  appeared  to  me.  I  Avas  never  repelled  from 
them,  but  was  rather  drawn  to  them,  and  I  used  to  listen  to 
their  cheerful  and  sometimes  witt}'  and  humorous  conversation. 
Avith  wonder  and  delight. 

The  three  leading  men  in  the  town,  for  nearly'  or  quite  half  a 
centur}',  were  Parson  Hale,  Dr.  Hooker  and  Squire  Judd — the 
parson,  the  doctor  and  the  squire — the  first  a  minister,  and  both 
the  others  sous  of  ministers.  To  the  latter,  Sylvester  Judd, 
Esq.,  ni}'  maternal  grandfather,  it  may  not  be  improper  for  me, 
on  this  occasion,  designed  in  part  to  commemorate  the  fathers 
of  the  toAAni,  to  pay  a  passing  tribute  of  respect.  I  knew  him 
Avell.  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  in  1821,  and  his  removal  to 
the  house  built  by  him  for  his  son,  Syh^ester  Judd,  jr.,  and  now 
occupied  by  Mr.  Anson  Chapman,  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  my 
mother,  then  a  widow,  came  to  reside  with  him. 

From  that  time  until  his  death  in  1832,  for  a  period  of  more 
than  ten  years,  his  house  was  my  home,  and  he  stood  to  me  in  the 
place  of  a  father. 

He  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  toAvn,  and  repre- 


58  WESTHAMPTON    KEUNION. 

sented  the  town  for  many  3'ear.s  in  the  General  Court,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  convention  that  met  in  1779,  to  form  a  State 
Constitution.  He  was  a  good  man,  and  an  honorable-  man,  of 
sterling  integrity',  and  a  firm  friend  of  law  and  order.  The  son 
of  a  clergyman.  Rev.  Jonathan  Judd,  the  first  minister  of 
Southampton,  and  trained  under  the  careful  and  somewliat  se- 
vere discipline  practiced  in  ministers'  families  in  those  days,  he 
was  a  man  of  deep  religions  principles,  decidedly  evangelical  in 
his  views  of  doctrine,  and  of  sincere  and  exemplary  but  not 
demonstrative  piety,  adhering  firmly  to  his  convictions  of 
truth  and  duty,  whatever  others  might  do. 

In  his  manners  and  general  bearing,  he  vras  a  gentleman  of 
the  old  school.  Tall  and  portl}',  of  dignified  and  commanding 
presence  and  somewhat  stern,  he  was  indeed,  as  Dr.  Clarke  has 
said,  a  terror  to  evil  doers  and  roguish  boys.  And  yet  he  was 
courteous  and  kind.  To  his  minister.  Parson  Hale,  of  whom  he 
was  always  a  fast  friend,  he  was  uniformly  respectful  and  deferen- 
tial, not  forgetting  to  send  him  portions  of  the  fjittest  of  his  herds 
and  flocks.  He  was  a  noble  man,  and  ever}'  year  increases  my  A'en- 
eration  of  his  character.  In  some  points  of  character  and  hab- 
its, he  might  have  sat  for  the  charming  life-like  picture  which 
Dr.  Holland  has  drawn  of  old  Daniel  (^ray.  In  his  family  pra}^- 
ers  which  were  long,  and  always  oflered  in  a  standing  posture, 
among  other  "  old  fashioned  words  and  phrases,"  and  "  sacred 
texts  "  which  have  fixed  themselves  in  my  memory,  were  the  fa- 
miliar words,  "  whom  to  know  aright  is  life  eternal."  It  may 
not  be  creditable  to  my  understanding,  but  I  used  to  wonder  in 
ray  boyhood,  who  that  Noah  AVright — "know  aright" — was, 
whose  name  was  always  introduced  into  the  family'  prayer,  and 
whose  title  to  eternal  life  was  secured.     Venerable  man  ! 

"I  see  him  now — his  face  and  form  and  motions, 
Rising  behind  the  straight-backed  kitchen  chair; 
I  can  remember  how  the  sentence  sounded, 
'Help  us,  O  Lord,  to  pray  and  not  to  faint;' 
And  how  'the  conquering  and  to  conquer'  rounded 
The  loftier  aspirations  of  the  saint." 

And  I  may  add  these  words  of  confident  hope  in  respect  to 
him  : 

"If  ever  I  shall  win  the  home  in  heaven. 
For  whose  sweet  rest  I  humbly  hope  and  pray, 
In  the  great  company  of  the  forgiven, 
1  shall  be  sure  to  find  old  Daniel  Gray." 

The  amusing  incidents  related  b}'  jMr.  Lyman  moved  Rev.  T. 
S.  Clarke  to  tell  another  "  little  story."  When  he  was  a  boy,  he 
said,  there  w^as  onl}^  one  democrat  in  Westhampton.  He  had 
heard  so  much  of  the  exceeding  wickedness  of  the  democrats, 
that  he  regarded  them  with  a  feeling  of  horror.     He  had  a  strong 


WESTHAMPTOK   KEUXIOX.  59 

desire  to  see  one.  At  length  his  curosit}-  became  so  intense, 
that  he  besought  his  father  to  let  him  go  to  the  town  meeting, 
that  he  might  behold  a  real,  live  democrat,  for  democrats  alwaj's 
attend  town  meetings,  and  especiall}'  if  it  rains.  He  went — he 
saw — when  lo  !  and  behold,  the  democrat  did  not  look  like  Beel- 
zebub, had  neither  hoofs,  horns  nor  tail,  nor  went  on  all  fours, 
but  appeared  like  a  human  being  ! 

C.  r.  Judd,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  being  called  up,  addressed  the 
assembly  in  the  following  terms  : 

Jf/-.  President : — It  has  been  said  that  "Westhampton  is  a  good 
place  to  move  away  from ;  and  true  it  is  that  many  persons 
have  moved  out  of  this  town  in  times  past.  But  L  am  always 
pleased  to  come  here.  I  like  to  return  to  these  hill  tops  and 
farm  houses.  The}'  have  a  charm  for  me  which  neither  time  nor 
distance  destro^'s.  And  to-daj^  as  I  look  forth  upon  the  beauti- 
ful scenery  spread  out  before  us,  and  as  I  recall  the  events  by 
which  this  town  has  been  led  onwards,  I  cannot  ^think  it  will 
ever  be  deserted  or  abandoned.  I  believe  the  town  has  still  a 
history  before  it,  even  more  wonderful  and  interesting  than  its 
past  history-.  The  good  seed  sown  here  by  our  fathers  will  not 
be  lost ;  in  the  storehouse  of  the  future  its  fruits  will  be  largely 
developed. 

Westhampton  is  said  by  some  to  be  a  dry  old  town,  gone  to 
seed,  without  any  new  life  or  enterprise,  or  go-ahead  in  it.  But 
this  is  not  so.  This  town  is  the  leader  in,  if  not  the  mother  of 
some  of  the  great  projects  wdiich  noAV  agitate  the  public  mind. 
We  now  hear  a  great  cleal  about  Avoman's  rights,  of  her  right  to 
vote  and  hold  office,  and  this  idea  is  presented  as  a  great  novel- 
t3\  Why,  sir,  3'ears  ago,  some  of  the  people  of  this  town  voted 
for  my  good  aunt,  Hannah  Lyman,  for  the  office  of  selectman, 
and  they  could  not  have  voted  for  a  better  man.  For  if  she 
had  been  elected,  she,  with  her  energy  and  habits  of  business, 
would  have  made  the  folks  toe  the  mark,  and  no  mistake. 
Again,  we  hear  about  the  bloomer  dress  as  a  new  notion,  as 
something  discovered  b}^  the  reformers  of  our  daj^  But,  sir,  the 
best  bloomer  dress  ever  invented  was  worn  by  our  good  grand- 
mothers long  before  the  present  agitators  were  born.  Our  fore- 
mothers  both  made  and  toore  the  real  article,  warm,  loose,  com- 
fortaljle,  health}' ;  and  also  a  dress  in  which  they  could  jump 
over  a  fence  or  stonewall,  without  catching  upon  or  being  hung 
b}'  the  bags  which  fall  down^  like  tag-locks,  in  the  modern  dress. 
Again,  sir,  the  town  has  had  in  it  some  persons  supposed  to 
l)e  skilled  in  the  divining  properties  of  the  witch-hazel  and  sweet 
apple  tree  bush.  Once  upon  a  time,  one  of  these  rod-diviners 
came  into  the  store  of  Mr.  S.  Judd,  jr.,  claiming  before  a  crowd 


60  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

that  he  could  tell  the  precise  spot  where  the  money  drawer  was, 
if  there  was  any  money  in  it,  1)}^  the  motion  of  a  sprig  of  witch- 
hazel.  Mr.  Judd  urged  him  to  trj'  his  skill ;  and  out  of  the 
door  the  diviner  goes,  after  a  rod  of  witch-hazel.  AYhile  he  was 
out,  Mr.  Judd  sl3'ly  moved  the  money  drawer  from  the  west  side 
of  the  store,  where  it  had  always  l)een  kept,  over  to  a  new  place 
on  the  east  side  of  the  building,  and  there  hid  it  under  the 
counter.  Soon  the  man  came  into  the  store  with  his  crotched 
stick,  and  began  his 'operations.  Holding  the  rod  tight  in  his 
two  hands,  he  moved  slowly  round  and  round  in  the  space  be- 
tween the  two  counters,  walking  carefully  and  gravely  step  by 
step,  and  stopping  frequently  to  catch  the  first  symptom  of  any 
motion  in  tlie  rod.  Tlie  spectators  were  still  as  the  grave,  not 
a  word  said,  lest  the  charm  should  be  broken.  Finally,  the  di- 
viner came  to  the  spot  front  of  the  counter,  behind  which  the 
drawer  had  always  been  kept.  Here  he  balanced  backwards  and 
forwards,  going  a  little  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  until 
after  several  vibrations,  he  came  to  a  stand-still  right  in  front 
of  the  place  where  the  drawer  used  to  be.  Stopping  a  moment 
to  feel  the  pulsations  of  the  rod  as  it  bends  forward  ;  "  there," 
he  cries  out,  pointing  the  twig  to  the  old  spot,  "there  is  the 
mone}',  see  how  the  rod  moves."  A  loud  ring  of  laughter  was 
poured  .out  upon  the  magician  and  sore  was  his  discomfiture, 
when  Mr.  Judd  took  the  monej'-drawer  up  from  the  place  hid 
directly  opposite  to  the  spot  pointed  out  by  the  pretended  diviner. 
It  is  jocosel}'  remarked,  that  the  town  is  growing  down  into  a 
sheep  pasture.  But,  fellow  townsmen,  let  not  3'our  hearts  be 
troubled  ;  there  is  no  danger  that  it  will  become  a  wilderness 
again.  The  people  of  this  town  have  been  in  former  days,  and 
are  to-day,  a  power  in  the  world.  Go  on,  then,  in  the  good  old 
wa3's  trodden  by  j-our  fathers  ;  keep  up  j-our  schools,  and  3'our 
church,  preserve  j'our  simple  habits,  live  together  united  as  a 
band  of  brethren  ;  and,  depend  upon  it,  these  hills  will  continue 
to  flourish  with  a  busy  and  noble  population.  The  springs  of 
health  are  all  around  and  within  your  borders  ;  the  very  air 
teems  with  the  elixir  of  life.  Standing  here  on  these  elevations 
3"ou  can  see  the  dense  fogs  which  settle  down  upon  the  rich  val- 
ley of  the  Connecticut,  covering  the  towns  with  mist.  For  sev- 
eral 3'ears  past  the  inhabitants  of  the  old  mother  town  have  felt 
the  danger  and  the  growing  evils  caused  bj-  the  dampness  of 
their  river  situation,  and  some  of  them  have  annually  retired 
Avith  their  families  to  the  back  towns,  for  the  purpose  of  restor- 
ing their  health  and  vigor,  by  breathing  the  bracing  and  dry  air 
of  the  hills.  They  must  continue  to  seek  retreats  from  the  mil- 
dews surrounding  them  ;  and  what  situation  for  this  purpose 
holds  out  so  mau}^  inducements  as  the  hill  tops  and  valley's  of 
this  good  town?  Pardon  me,  Mr.  President,  for  having  taken 
up  so  much  of  the  time  on  this  ever-to-be-remembered  day. 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.  61 

Eev.  Osman  A.  Lj^maii,  Preacher  to  the  Lane  Seminaiy ,  Ohio, 
referred  to  his  early  associations  about  the  fearful  heights  of 
"Pisgah."  He  had  not  the  honor,  exactly,  of  being  a  son  of 
^Yesthampton,  but  this  was  the  birthplace  of  his  father  and 
mother,  of  revered  memory.  He  alluded  in  eloquent  terms  to 
the  character  of  his  ancestors  here,  as  men  of  principle,  intelli- 
gent, God-fearing  men.  He  was  thankful  that  his  parents  were 
born  and  reared  in  the  midst  of  such  hallowed  influences,  for  to 
them  he  owed  whatever  aspirations  for  usefulness  in  the  world 
he  had  felt  himself.  The  sons  and  daughters  of  Westhampton 
could  in  no  way  so  well  show  their  gratitude  to  their  godly 
parentage,  as  b}'^  spreading  through  the  country  and  the  world 
the  knowledge  of  those  great  religious  principles,  which  were 
their  joy  in  life,  and  their  hope  of  immortalit}-. 
.  Rev.  J.  L.  Clark,  D.  D.,  of  "Waterbury,  Connecticut,  said : 

He  had  heard  grave  doubts  expressed  since  he  arrived  in  this 
his  native  town,  whether  the  citizens  would  be  able  to  feed  so 
great  a  multitude  as  were  assembled  here  to-day. 

He  was  sure  that  a  glance  at  the  tables  now  that  we  have  all 
received  a  full  supply,  would  satisfy  anj'  one  that  had  we  brought 
all  our  children  with  us,  we  should  not  have  been  able  to  ex- 
haust the  abilit}''  or  the  hospitality  of  our  friends  here  at  home. 

The  speaker  could  think  of  nothing  to  be  added  to  make  this 
a  most  happy  reunion  of  citizens,  unless  some  sign  could  have 
been  suggested,  by  which  those  who  Avere  very  intimate  friends 
once,  might  recognize  each  other  after  a  separation  of  fort}'  or 
fifty  years.  He  left  his  home  here  forty-three  j^ears  ago,  and 
he  had  met  many  here  to-day  whom  he  had  not  seen  since.  He 
had  been  very  much  embarrassed,  a«  he  perceived  they  Avere, 
each  Avaiting  for  the  other's  advance  to  be  sure  of  no  mistake. 

Ah  !  Mr.  Chairman,  the  lapse  of  years  has  changed  our  coun- 
tenances, but  it  has  not  chilled  our  hearts.  And  yet  we  cannot, 
in  a  few  burdened  hours,  show  each  other  how  we  remember  our 
companions  in  childish  sports,  or  our  early  teachers  in  useful 
knowledge.  I  recognize  here  present  one  of  my  early  teachers, 
the  Rev.  Dorus  Clarke,  to  Avhom  I  have  ahvays  felt  I  OAA'ed  a 
large  debt  of  gratitude.  He  was  my  schoolmaster,  against 
whom  I  once  braA^ely  ventured  to  oppose  my  will,  and  soon  found 
that  the  waj'  of  safety  as  Avell  as  of  Avisdom  was  to  submit.  As 
I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  liefore,  I  Avill  avail  m^'self  of 
this,  to  return  to  my  former  master  ni}^  sincere  thanks  for  his 
kind  fidelity. 

Many  years  ago,  perhaps  twenty-five,  I  saAV  advertised  a  vol- 
ume of  "  Lectures  to  Young  Men,"  published  by  that  gentle- 


62  -SVESTHAMPTON    REUXIOX. 

man.  I  took  the  earliest  opportunity  to  get  it,  and  have  read  it 
with  deep  interest  and  mnch  instruction.  Permit  me,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, to  conmiend  that  volume  to  the  3'pung  here  present.  You 
will  find  there  a  lecture  on  the  "  Importance  of  Established  and 
Correct  Religious  Principles  Earl^^nLife."  You  will  see  there 
in  what  gloom  and  horror,  the  most  distinguished  infidels  have 
been  compelled  to  leave  the  Avorld  and  enter  eternit}-.  Voltaire, 
one  of  the  greatest  champions  of  which  infidelity  could  boast 
in  the  last  centur}^,  was  made  an  infidel  for  life,  he  says,  by 
committing  to  memor}',  when  eight  j'cars  of  age,  a  deistical 
pamphlet  which  was  put  into  his  hands. 

Much  of  the  popular  literature  of  the  present  day,  though  not 
so  bold  in  attacks  upon  revealed  truth  as  that  of  lifty  to  eighty 
years  ago,  is  even  more  dangerous,  because  the  poison  is  more 
insidious  and  more  generally  diffused.  It  comes  in  the  shape 
of  periodicals  as  avcU  as  books,  such  as  monthl}'  and  quarterlj- 
magazines,  Avith  too  often  the  tacit  endorsement  of  the  good, 
by  being  found  on  their  tables.  Youth  and  even  children  will 
inhale  the  poison.  Its  authors  may  have  highh*  cultivated 
minds,  but  tlie^'  have  unhumbled  hearts.  They  may  have  taste 
and  imagination  which  will  attract,  and  entertain,  and  instruct 
for  this  world,  but  here  their  ability  as  teachers  ends,  for  they 
have  never  spent  a  day,  earnestly  preparing  their  own  souls  for 
the  life  to  come.  A  life  of  faith  here,  such  faith  as  works  by 
love  and  overcomes  the  Avorld,  is  the  hate  and  scorn  of  these 
teachers. 

Books  Avere  fcAV  in  numl)er,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  our  homes  Avhen 
Ave  were  children.  But  they  Avere  such  books  as  Baxter's  "  Call 
to  the  UncouA'crted,"  Baxter's  "  Saint's  Rest,"  "  Life  of  Rca'. 
Henry  Martyu,"  of  "Harriet  Newell,"  and  that  monthly  jour- 
nal of  the  missionaries  Avho  left  this  country  in  1812  and  1814. 
and  ouAvard,  under  the  American  Board  for  Foreign  Missions. 
Such,  Sir,  fed  and  strengthened  the  mind,  under  the  Divine 
blessing,  and  prepared  the  young  for  usefulness  on  earth  and 
happiness  through  eternity. 

ReA^  Dorus  Clarke,  of  Waltham,  Mass.,  next  responded  to  the 
call  of  the  President.  His  intended  remarks,  which  follow,  were 
somewhat  abridged  in  the  deliA^ery  for  Avant  of  time. 

Mr.  President: — Not  long  since  a  young  lady  was  asked, 
"  where  is  j^our  native  place?"  and  she  replied,  "  I  never  had 
any  natiA'e  place  ;  I  am  the  daughter  of  a  Methodist  minister." 
Our  fiithers  and  mothers  Avere  not  so  peripatetic  as  the  good 
Methodist,  and  their  descendants  are  not  so  unfortunate  as  his 
daughter.  We  haA^e  a  native  place.  We  knoAV  Avhere  it  is,  and 
what  it  is,  and  we  have  come  here  to-day,  from  our  Avide  disper- 
sion, to  do  it  merited  honor,     Westhampton  !  one  of  the  least,  in- 


WESTHAMPTOX   REUNION*.  63 

deed,  of  the  triljes  of  our  Massachusetts  Israel,  but  one  of  the 
most  deserving.  Seven  cities  of  Greece  contended  for  centuries 
for  the  high  honor  of  being  the  birthplace  of  Homer,  and  more 
than  seven  of  the  towns  of  the  Bay  State  may  well  desire  the 
credit  of  having  given  birth  to  this  large  and  highl.y  respectable 
assemblage.  There  is  music  in  the  very  name  of  this  good  old 
town. 

•  'Where  e'er  I  roam,  Tvhatever  realms  I  see, 
My  heart,  untravelled,  fondly  turns  to  thee." 

It  was  a  great  mistake  that  Boston  and  New  York  were  built  so 
far  from  Westhampton.  Coleridge  tells  us  of  a  man  who  had 
such  a  high  sense  of  self  respect,  that  w^henever  he  referred  to 
himself  he  took  off  his  hat ;  but  we  would  pa}'  more  appropriate 
homage,  as  we  stand,  uncovered  and  reverent,  in  this  presence. 
I  do  not  know,  sir,  that  there  is  an}-  law  aginst  it,  but  if  there 
is,  my  friend,  Mr.  Judd,  the  historiographer  of  the  day,  who 
knows  all  about  the  law,  can  tell  us  ;  but  I  do  not  know  that 
there  is  any  law  against  resolving  ourselves  into  a  sort  of  Mu- 
tual Admiration  Society ;  and,  as  for  the  ethics  of  such  a  pro- 
ceeding, the  luimerous  clergj'men  around  me  are  abundantly 
competent  to  settle  that  question.  At  any  rate,  such  a  society, 
if  savoring  a  little  of  vanity,  I  think  it  will  be  admitted,  would 
"lean  to  virtue's  side,"  quite  as  much  as  the  Mutual  Detraction 
Societies  which  exist  in  many  of  our  country  villages,  where 
the  gossip  of  unbridled  tongues  keeps  whole  communities  in 
ceaseless  strife  ;  institutions,  which,  I  believe,  are  not  very  pop- 
ular in  this  peaceful  and  harmonious  town  of  our  nativity.  In 
Boston  and  Vicinity,  we  enjoy  the  reputation  of  having  several 
such  Admiration  Societies, — the  conductors  of  the  Atlantic 
Monthly,  it  is  said,  form  one  of  them,  among  others.  As  the 
manners  of  the  metropolis  are  often  imitated  in  the  countr}',  and 
sustained,  as  we  are,  by  such  high  authorities,  I  will  take  the 
liberty  to  saj', — that  whenever  and  wherever  I  see  a  AYesthamp- 
ton  man,  I  always  feel  that  he  is  made  of  little  finer  mould  than 
other  folks,  and  especially  do  I  expect  to  find  him  a  man  of 
larger  intelligence,  wider  comprehension  of  duty,  and  a  more 
assured  preparation  for  the  Great  Hereafter.  And  why  should 
it  not  be  so,  if  the  "fruit"  indicates  at  all  the  character  of  the 
"tree  ?"  The  Providence  of  God  sifted  Northampton,  and  Hock- 
anura,  and  Southampton,  and  Dedham,  to  find  seed  good  enough 
wherewith  to  sow  these  hills  and  valleys.  The  early  settlers  of 
this  town  were  a  godly  generation,  and  if  they  had  one  desire 
which  was  paramount  to  all  others,  it  was  that  ice^  their  descend- 
ants, would  adhere  to  their  religious  faith,  and  far  excel  them  in 
the  fervor  of  our  piety.  How  many  thousand  times  did  they 
pray,  to  use  their  own  stereotyped  and  sacred  phraseologies, 
that  their  "  children  and  their  children's  children,  down  to  the 


64  WESTIIAMPTON   REUNION. 

latest  generation,  may  be  converted  to  Christ,"  and  that  "their 
souls  with  ours  may  be  bound  up  in  the  sure  bundle  of  eter- 
nal life."  Their  parlance  has  been  stigmatized  as  "divinely  il- 
literate ;"  but  it  had  a  heavenly  ring,  to  which,  it  were  well,  if 
the  st^de  of  their  erudite  detractors  could  make  some  preten- 
sion. Wliat  children,  tlie  Avorld  over,  have  had  so  christian  an 
ancestry  ? 

The  monuments  of  their  consecration  to  Christ  stand  here  all 
around  us.  For  where  will  you  find  better  common  schools  than 
on  this  consecrated  spot  ?  Where  can  you  finel  another  commu- 
nity where  the  Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism,  for  more  than 
half  a  centur}^,  formed  the  common  moral  pahiduin  of  all  the 
people  ?  In  ray  childhood  and  youth,  we  had  it  for  breakfast, 
we  had  it  for  dinner,  and  Ave  had  it  for  supper.  It  was  thor- 
oughly taught  in  nearly'  every  family,  and  in  all  the  common 
schools  of  the  town  ;  and  was  regularly  recited  in  the  old  church 
to  Father  Hale,  from  year  to  3'ear,  b}'  all  the  children  between 
the  ages  of  eight  and  fifteen.  The  old  church,  beaten  by  the 
storms  of  many  years,  and  innocent  of  paint  and  bell  and  stee- 
ple, was  equall}^  innocent  of  a  thin  attendance  on  the  Sabbath 
both  forenoon  and  afternoon,  and  would  admit  within  its  doors, 
only  with  the  greatest  reluctance,  any  child  of  proper  age,  who 
did  not  know  the  catechism  by  heart,  verbatim,  et  literatim,  et 
punctuatim.  As  might  be  expected  under  such  thorough  evan- 
gelical tuition,  revivals  of  religion  have  been  of  frequent  occur- 
rence, and  of  great  purity  and  power.  More  than  one  third  of 
the  inhabitants,  all  told,  are  to-day  members  of  this  beloved  Con- 
gregational Church  ;  nine  tenths  of  all  the  people  are  stated  attend- 
ants on  public  worship  ;  and  thirty-eight  of  the  young,  men  have 
obtained  a  liberal  education,  most  of  whom  have  entered  the 
learned  professions,  and  especially  the  christian  ministry.  Sev- 
eral others  have  gone  through  regular  courses  of  professional 
study.  This,  it  is  believed,  is  a  larger  percentage  of  educated 
men  than  has  been  reared  in  any  other  town  in  this  or  any  other 
Commonwealth.  These  thorough  educational  and  religious  in- 
fluences have  here  wrought  out  their  legitimate  results,  and  the 
same  causes  will  work  out,  and  they  only  can  work  out  the  same 
results  in  other  communities.  These  influences  have  made  West- 
hampton  what  it  is,  in  comparison  with  many  other  towns  in  the 
State,  which,  locally,  are  more  highly  favored ;  and  New  Eng- 
land what  it  is,  in  comparison  with  the  Southern  States ;  and 
the  United  States  what  they  are,  in  distinction  from  Mexico  and 
Japan. 

The  dwellers  in  this  beautiful  Valley  of  the  Connecticut  are 
under  greater  obligations  to  a  former  resident  here,  than  lan- 
guage has  yet  found  power  to  express.  Jonathan  Edwards — 
clarum  et  venerabile  nomen  ; — Jonathan  Edwards, — by  common 


WESTHAMPXON    REUNION.  65 

consent,  the  ablest  theologian  and  metaphysician  our  country 
has  produced — left  the  impress  of  his  thorough  orthodoxy  and 
devoted  piety  upon  all  this  section  of  the  State.  That  heavenly 
stamp  seems  almost  ineftaceable.  More  than  a  century  has 
rolled  away  since  he  left  Northampton,  yet  his  influence  is  still 
perpetuated  here.  You  see  it  in  the  peculiar  moral  and  relig- 
ious fjrain  of  this  community.  I  have  resided  in  this  town  six- 
teen years,  in  Williamstown  four  years,  in  Andover  three  3'ears, 
in  Blandford  twelve  years,  in  Springfield  six  years,  in  Boston 
six  years,  and  in  Waltham  sixteen  years  ;  and  have  therefore 
had  some  opportunities  to  form  an  intelligent  judgment  of  the 
relative  condition,  moral  and  religious,  of  different  parts  of  the 
Commonwealth.  And  I  say  it  "  without  fear,  or  favor,  or  hope 
of  reward  ;"  I  say  it  with  no  invidious  comparisons,  for  the 
comparisons  are  in  no  sense  invidious,  but  just ;  I  say  it  simplj' 
because  historic  verity  peremptorily  requires  that  it  should  be 
said,  that  I  have  nowhere  found,  in  these  communities  generall}", 
such  profound  reverence  for  the  name  of  JEHOVAH,  the  In- 
finite and  Personal  GOD  ;  such  unquestioning  faith  in  the  Divine 
authority  of  the  H0I3'  Scriptures  ;  such  conscientious  observance 
of  the  Sabbath ;  such  habitual  practice  of  family  prayer  ;  such 
respect  and  anxiety  for  revivals  of  religion  ;  such  serious  deter- 
mination to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  such  deep 
conviction  that  it  never  can  be  reached,  except  through  repent- 
ance for  sin,  and  faith  in  a  crucified  and  Atoning  Redeemer,  as  I 
have  found  on  this  ver^-  spot,  That  the  condition  of  things 
here  is  what  it  should  be,  is  far,  very  far  from  being  the  fact ; 
but  that  it  is,  on  the  whole,  better  than  in  almost  an}'  other  sec- 
tion of.  the  country  or  of  the  world,  is  my  honest  belief.  This 
superior  christian  tone  of  society  must  have  had  an  adequate 
cause  ;  and  that  cause,  I  apprehend,  can  be  found  only  in  the 
more  thorough  indoctrination  of  the  people,  from  the  time  of 
Edwards  down  to  this  da}',  in  the  great  truths  of  the  Bible, — 
creating  public  sentiment,  permeating  domestic  life,  energizing 
conscience,  converting  men  to  Christ,  and  impregnating  society 
with  a  deeper  sense  of  moral  obligation.  Calvinism  has  formed 
the  warp  and  the  woof  of  this  community. 

But  has  "Westhampton  done  anything  for  the  icorld  at  large? 
Yes.  Old  ^sculapius  would  gladly  surrender  his  pill-box  and 
scalpel  to  his  more  scientific  disciples  from  this  town,  and  the 
mantles  of  Col^e  and  Webster  sit  gracefully  on  her  sons.  She 
has  sent  a  worthier  representative  of  Christianity  than  Colenso 
to  enlighten  the  kraals  of  Southern  Africa  ;  and  "  how  beauti- 
ful upon  the  mountains"  of  Western  Asia  "  are  the  feet  of  him" 
of  Westharapton,  who  is  there  publishing  the  Gospel  of  peace  ! 
She  has  adorned  the  pulpits  of  Boston,  and  presided  over  the 
school  of  the  prophets  at  Andover.     She  devised  the  famous 


66  WESTHAJinOX     EEUNIOX. 

"  pledge,"  which  is  working  out  the  temperance  reforiiiation  ; 
and  has  taught  the  world  that  industrial  prosperity,  no  less  than 
the  Bible,  requires  us  to  keep  the  Sabbath  holy.  She  has  fur- 
nished pastors  for  several  of  the  churches  of  Massachusetts, 
Maine,  Connecticut,  and  New  York ;  has  sent  her  sons  and 
daughters  to  form  and  support  new  churches  in  Ohio  ;  has  added 
moral  lustre  to  the  gold  of  California  ;  and  is  rapidly  transform- 
ing Wisconsin  and  ^lichigan  into  gardens  of  the  Lord.  By  her 
editorial  labors,  she  has  moulded  the  political  and  religious  opin- 
ions of  the  times  ;  and  by  her  engineering  skill,  she  directed  the 
construction  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Railroad,  and  intro- 
duced the  Cochituate  into  Boston.  She  has  sat  in  the  Common 
Council  and  in  the  School  Committee  of  that  city ;  has  accumu- 
lated materials  for  a  history  of  several  towns  in  Hampshire 
County  ;  enriched  the  world  b}'  her  literary,  pathological  and 
theological  productions ;  aspired  to  tlie  van  of  the  conflict  with 
the  hosts  of  rebellion  ;  taught  numerous  "  young  ideas  how  to 
shoot ; "  mai)ped  out  the  world  for  the  public  benefit ;  one  of 
her  manufacturers  has  done  business  at  the  rate  of  $500,000  a 
3'ear,  and  the  orders  of  her  merchants  are  sought  for  in  London. 

All  this,  Mr.  President,  is  not  rhetorical  embellishment,  but 
a  statement  of  facts.  That  this  small  town,  which,  in  its  palm- 
iest days,  numbered  scarcely  more  than  900  souls,  and  now 
counts  300  less,  has  done  all  this  for  the  world,  is  a  marvel.  No 
history  of  it,  then,  can  be  complete,  which  ignores  the  influence 
of  the  school,  the  catechism,  and  the  churcli,  or  which  does  not 
make  these  institutions  stand  out,  in  the  boldest,  strongest  re- 
lief in  the  portrait.  You  may  as  well  attempt  to  enact  the  play 
of  Hamlet,  with  Hamlet  all  left  out,  as  to  account  for  tlie  strict 
morality  and  eminent  piety  of  most  of  the  fathers  and  mothers 
who  sleep  in  j'onder  cejneteries  awaiting  "  the  resurrection  of 
the  just ;"  or  for  the  intelligence,  energy,  practical  good  sense, 
piety  and  success  of  many  of  their  descendants,  in  their  diver- 
sified forms  of  usefulness  in  the  world,  b}^  proposing  an}^  other 
solution  of  the  problem,  than  the  grace  of  God,  sanctifying 
the  thorough  drilling  of  the  schools,  and  the  imdiluted  truths  of 
the  catechism  upon  the  intellects,  the  hearts,  and  the  lives  of  the 
people. 

Lord  Macauley,  the  celebrated  English  historian,  says,  that 
"  any  people  who  are  indifferent  to  the  great  deeds  of  those  who 
have  gone  before,  are  not  likely  to  perform  deeds  to  be  remem- 
bered by  those  who  follow  them."  Let  us  be  faithful,  then,  Mr. 
Chairman  and  friends,  to  the  high  trust  which  our  plain,  but  no- 
ble and  godly  ancestry  have  imposed  upon  us.  Let  us  be  true 
to  their  pure  and  renovating  Faith.  Let  all  men  do  the  same, 
and  then,  when  our  descendants,  of  a  distant  generation,  shall 
assemble  here,  to  celebrate  the  Second  Centennial  of  the  settle- 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.  67 

ment  of  this  town,  they  will  assemble  in  the  sunlight  of  the 
Millennium. 

I  hold  in  my  hand,  Mr.  President,  two  specimens  of  antiqui- 
ty, which  it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  exhibit  nere.  One  of 
them  is  a  Deed,  in  "  sere  and  yellow  leaf,"  of  a  parcel  of  land 
in  Southampton,  given  by  Jonathan  Clark  to  his  sou,  Jonathan 
Clark,  Jr.,  and  dated  July  17G7,  "  in  the  seventh  year  of  the 
raigne  of  George  the  Third," — more  than  ninety-nine  j-ears  ago. 
Curiousl}^  enough,  this  Deed,  which  was  executed  by  my  great 
grandfather,  was  witnessed  by  Rev.  Jonathan  Judd,  the  great 
grandfather  of  Mr.  Judd,  one  of  the  orators  on  the  present  oc- 
casion. Jonathan  Clark,  Jr.,  my  grandfather,  removed  to  this 
town  in  1774,  selected  a  site  for  his  residence  on  the  hills,  one 
mile  west  of  the  centre,  with  an  outlook  upon  a  wealth  of  nat- 
ural scenery,  which  would  have  enraptured  the  taste  of  Shen- 
stone  and  Ruskin.  From  that  spot,  the  Connecticut  River, 
Mt.  Tom,  Mt.  Holyoke,  Amherst  College,  Williston  Seminary, 
Mt.  Holyoke  Female  Seminar}-,  and  several  churches  and  smil- 
ing villages  now  appear,  inlaid  in  variegated  mosaics,  in  the 
landscape  below.  Often'  was  my  youthful  imagination  regaled 
with  the  beauties  of  that  scene  ;  and  well,  too,  do  I  remember 
how,  sometimes,  the  heavens  gathered  blackness,  the  thunders 
crashed,  the  lightnings  gleamed  along  the  mountains,  and  the 
earth  rocked  under  the  fury  of  the  tempest,  as  it  swept  sublimely 
along  down  into  the  vast  valley  beneath  ;  and  how  the  comming- 
led elements  raged,  and  rolled,  and  surged  over  Easthampton 
and  Northampton,  and  sent  back  their  deafening  roar  to  my  ears  ; 
while  the  setting  sun  lighted  up  the  hills  around  me  with  his 
smiles,  painted  the  rainbow^  on  the  departing  storm,  and  every 
twig,  and  leaf,  and  flower  glittered  with  tears  of  gratitude  that 
the  fearful  tornado  was  overpast ! 

It  was  there  that  my  grandfather  felled  the  wilderness,  erected 
a  house,  barn  and  other  buildings,  and  in  1777,  at  the  call  of 
patriotism,  he  left  his  young  wife  and  his  infant  son,  Jonathan, 
my  f;ither — the  third  Jonathan  in  the  series — then  two  years 
old,  to  struggle  along  in  the  woods  as  best  they  might,  while  he 
went  to  defend  his  imperilled  country  at  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point.  He  returned  from  that  expedition  with  broken 
health,  wdiich  was  never  afterwards  restored.  As  his  son  grew 
up,  he  sent  him  to  the  school  of  the  celebrated  Master  Curson, 
in  Hatfield,  at  that  time  perhaps  the  best  in  Western  Massachu- 
setts. Here  he  remained  till  he  acquired  an  education,  which 
was  quite  superior  for  those  days.  He  had  a  strong  desire  for 
professional  life,  and  was  partly  fitted  for  college  with  his . 
cousin,  Tertius  Strong,  the  first  graduate  from  this  town  ;  but 
being  an  only  child,  his  parents  thought  it  his  duty  to  remain  at 
home,  and  filial  obedience  was  with  him  a  stronger  principle 
5 


G8  WESTHAMPTON    REUNION. 

even  than  his  love  of  letters.  His  education  qualified  him  for 
usefulness  in  several  public  stations  which  he  was  afterwards 
called  to  fill-  S3dvester  Judd,  Esq.,  Major  Aaron  Fisher  and 
himself  were  the  delegates  of  this  town  to  the  Convention  of 
Hampshire  Count}^, — then  comprising  the  present  counties  of 
Hampshire,  Franklin,  and  Hampden, — which  met  at  Northamp- 
ton in  181-3,  to  inquire  if  any  measures  could  be  devised  to  ter- 
minate the  war  with  Great  Britain,  which  was  very  unpopular 
throughout  the  New  England  States.  The  noble  resolutions, 
adopted  by  the  town  on  that  great  public  exigency,  were  the 
production  of  his  pen.  and  are  still  extant.  Less  than  forty  years 
of  age,  he  died  suddenly,  Februar}^  23,  1814,  of  typhoid  fever, 
which  spread  epidemically  through  the  town,  and  swept  awaj- 
several  of  its  more  eminent  men. 

Upon  his  decease,  a  set  of  Addison's  Spectator,  in  eight  vol- 
umes, which  was  a  part  of  his  librarj^  came  intomj' possession. 
He  had  imported  it  from  London  in  his  early  manhood,  and  at 
a  time,  I  venture  to  sa}',  when  there  Avere  but  few  copies  of  that 
excellent  classic  in  any  of  the  retired  towns  in  the  State.  I  find 
upon  the  fly-leaves  his  name,  written  in  his  beautiful,  bold, 
John  Hancock  style,  and  uj^on  the  coAcrs  of  all  the  volumes  nu- 
merous memoranda,  in  the  hand  writing  of  my  grandfather,  of 
his  appreciation  of  different  articles.  In  the  A'olume  now  be- 
fore me,  he  refers,  with  marked  approbation,  to  the  lyrical  and 
religious  beauties  of  the  Ode — 

"When  all  thy  mercies,  0  my  God  ;" — 

and  it  is  something  to  the  credit  of  the  discriminating  literary 
taste  of  a  farmer  and  soldier  of  the  last  century,  that  his  judg- 
ment is  confirmed  by  the  highest  criticism  of  the  present  day. 

At  this  point,  Mr.  Clarke  observed  at  the  tables  Mr.  Asa 
Parsons,  who,  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  was  his  teacher  in  the 
Centre  School,  and  Mrs.  Sybella  Hale  Hall,  of  Boston,  who 
was  many  years  one  of  his  classmates,  and  an  earnest  and  very 
often  successful  competitor  with  him  for  the  honor  of  being  at 
"  the  head  ;"  and  at  his  request,  the  master,  now  more  than  eighty 
years  of  age,  and  his  two  young  pupils  now  approaching  seven- 
ty, rose  in  the  presence  of  the  audience.  Conscious  that  he  is 
largel}^  indebted  for  what  little  he  knows  of  his  mother-tongue  to 
those  early  and  friendly  competitive  efforts,  and  wishing  to  stim- 
ulate others  to  make  the  same,  he  presented  to  the  town  a  small 
donation,  and  the  President  read  the  following  Article  of  Con- 
veyance : 

WESTHAMPTON,    SEPTEMBER   5,    1866. 

The  subscriber,  a  resident  of  Waltham,  Mass.,  but  a  native  of  Westhampton, 
being  present  at  the  Eeunion  of  the  Natives  of  the  toivn,  held  this  day,  and  wishing 
to  leave  behind  him  some  testimonial  of  his  interest  in  the  place  of  his  nativity. 


WESTHAMPTON    REUXION,  69 

and  particularly  in  the  Centre  School  of  the  town,  where  he  learned  the  rudiments 
of  his  English  education — of  his  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  same,  and  of  his  sense  of 
the  high  importance  of  correct  reading  and  spelling  as  the  basis  of  all  thorough 
literary  attainments,  herewith  presents  to  the  town  the  sum  of  One  Hundred  and- 
Tliirty  Dollars,  under  the  conditions  and  for  the  purpose  hereinafter  mentioned, 
to  wit: 

1.  The  fund  shall  be  called  the  Clarke  Scholarship,  and  the  interest  or  pro- 
ceeds of  which  shall  be  annually  given  to  the  best  reader  and  speller,  of  either  sex, 
in  the  Senior  Class  of  the  Centre  School,  at  the  close  of  the  winter  term;  Provided, 
however,  that  the  prize  shall  not  be  awarded  twice  to  the  same  individual. 

2.  Mr.  Asa  Parsons,  for  several  years  my  respected  instructor  in  that  school,  and 
the  Selectmen  of  the  town,  for  the  time  being,  are  hereby  appointed  Trustees  of 
the  fund. 

3.  The  Trustees  shall  invest  the  same  in  the  capital  stoct  of  one  of  the  National 
Banks  in  Xorthampton,  and  if  the  amount  is  insufBcient  to  purchase  a  share  in 
said  Bank  Stock,  the  subscriber  will  pay  the  balance. 

4:.  The  interest  or  dividends  which  may  accrue  annually  from  this  investment, 
shall  be  annually  collected  by  the  Trustees  and  paid  over  to  the  School  Committee 
of  the  town,  for' the  time  being,  to  be  by  that  Committee  or  the  Superintendent  of- 
the  Schools,  given  to  the  best  reader  and  speller  va.  the  Senior  Class  of  the  school, 
as  above  specified. 

5.  The  School  Committee  of  the  town,  or  either  of  them,  together  with  the  Su- 
perintendent of  the  Schools  for  the  time  being,  or  such  other  disinterested  gentle- 
men as  they  may  associate  with  themselves  for  the  purpose,  are  respectfully  request- 
ed to  observe  from  time  to  time  the  progress  of  the  pupils  in  the  Senior  Class  of 
the  Centre  School;  and  at  the  close  of  every  winter  term,  to  subject  that  class  to 
such  practical  tests  in  reading  and  spelling,  as  they  may  deem  most  appropriate,  for 
the  purpose  of  determining  which  pupil  deserves  the  prize,  shall  make  the  award 
accordingly,  and  shall  pay  over  the  amount  received  from  the  Trustees  to  the  per- 
son whom  "they  shall  judge  to  have  deserved  the  same. 

6.  If  for  any  reason  the  School  Committee,  or  the  i>ersons  associated  with  them, 
shall  not  make  any  award  for  three  successive  years  of  the  interest  or  dividends 
thus  appropriated,  the  fund  shall  he  forfeited;  and  the  Trustees  shall  convert  the 
fund  into  cash,  and  shall  pay  it  over,  together  with  the  interest  or  dividends  which 
shall  have  accrued  on  the  same,  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions,  for  the  general  purposes  of  that  Institution. 

7.  The  town  of  Westhampton  is  hereljy  respectfully  desired,  at  their  next  regular 
town  meeting,  to  accept  the  donation  now  given,  and  to  cause  this  document  to  be 
entered  at  length  upon  the  Records  of  the  town,  for  the  information  and  guidance 
of  all  concerned;  but  if  the  Town  shall  decline  to  accept  it,  upon  the  conditions 
and  for  the  purpose  above  specified,  the  Trustees  shall  immediately  pay  over  the 
same  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 

DOKUS  Clarke, 

Rev.  Calvin  Clark,  of  Michigan,  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
the  citizens  of  the  town  for  their  kind  invitation  and  generons 
hospitality^  He  had  been  absent  thirty  years  ;  had  grown  up 
in  Michigan,  and  travelled  extensively  in  several  of  the  North- 
western States,  and  seen  a  wonderful  development.  But  his  af- 
fections still  linger  around  the  rocks  and  hills  of  his  birth  place 
and  early  associations.  Nine  times  he  had  come  on  a  pilgrim- 
age to  the  "old  homestead,"  to  visit  the  aged  parents,  l)rothers 
and  sisters,  and  shed  tears  over  their  graves,  and  talk  over  the 
past.  No  spot  on  earth  had  so  deep  a  hold  on  his  sj-mpathies. 
Here  he  first  consecrated  himself  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  ad- 
vancement of  His  glorious  cause  jn  the  world.  And  while  mem- 
or}^  does  its  dutj^,  the  past  and  the  present  will  never  be  obliter- 
ated from  his  mind. 

The  motion  was  seconded,  and  unanimously  adopted. 


70  AVESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

Dr.  Anson  Hooker,  of  East  Cambridge,  responded  to  a  refer- 
ence to  his  father,  Dr.  William  Hooker,  as  follows : 

I  thank  the  assembl}^  most  cordially  for  your  kind  remembrance 
of  one  who  for  so  manj^  3-ears  labored  for  3'our  welfare.  My 
father  was  for  many  years  your  sole  medical  adviser,  and  he 
stood  unaided  and  alone  through  man}'  serious  trials  of  his  skill 
and  fidelity  in  behalf  of  the  sick  and  afflicted  in  the  town.  How 
well  he  labored,  your  kind  and-  hearty  remembrance  of  liim  this 
day  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  hold  he  had  upon  your 
confidence  and  kind  regards.  Many  here  present  will  remember 
his  manly,  graceful  figure,  his  afifectionate  recognition  and  kind 
greeting,  as  he  went  in  and  out  among  you.  The  presence  of 
his  cheerful  countenance  in  the  chamber  of  the  sick,  was  almost 
as  good  a  balm  as  the  medicines  he  dispensed.  His  patients 
felt  that  in  him  they  had  a  sympathising  friend. 

As  a  pl^ysician,  he  was  kind,  atTectionate  and  attentive,  as 
many  here  can  testify.  He  was  a  close  and  accurate  observer 
of  diseases,  and  kept  pace  with  the  improvements  in  his  pro- 
fession. He  was  an  honor  to  his  profession,  a  benetactor  to  the 
afflicted,  and  an  ornament  to  the  Christian  church,  walking 
closely  in  the  footsteps  of  Him  "  who  Avent  about  doing  good," 
and  '•  was  meek  and  lowly  of  heart."  He  excelled  many  in 
what  may  be  called  the  moral  department  of  his  profession. 
Above  the  pett}'  tricks  and  management,  which  are  alike  unfair 
to  the  profession  and  delusive  to  the  patients,  he  vras  honorable, 
high  minded,  pure  hearted.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the 
town  and  church,  and  was  ever  ready  by  his  influence  and  liber- 
ality, to  help  forward  any  plan  for  their  benefit  and  improve- 
ment. In  this  way  he  did  much  to  elevate  the  character  of  the 
town,  and  to  give  it  the  reputation  it  has  ever  sustained  for  its 
high  toned  moralit}^  and  pure  religion.  His  religions  convictions 
were  fervent  and  strong,  rendering  his  declining  years  peaceful, 
hopeful  and  happy  to  the  last. 

Dr.  William  Hooker  was  born  at  Northampton,  in  November, 
176G  ;  the  son  of  Rev.  John  Hooker.  He  studied  medicine  with 
Dr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  of  Northampton.  In  1788  he  commenced 
the  practice  of  medicine  in  Westhampton,  and  contiimed  in  the 
pursuit  of  his  profession  xnatil  the  close  of  1834.  "After  that 
year  he  relinquished  practice,  except  to  attend  upon  family-  con- 
nections, and  in  consultations.  He  died  at  Westhampton,  Feb-'V 
ruary  27,  1861,  in  his  ninety-fourth  year,  retaining  his  mental 
faculties,  and  all  his  senses  in  a  remarkable  degree,  till  near  the 
close  of  his  long  and  useful  Jife.  He  died  of  acute  disease, 
rather  than  of  old  age. 

Rev.  Luther  Clapp,  of  Wauwatosa,  Wisconsin,  on  invitation, 
addressed  the  assembly  as  follows  : 


WESTHAMPTON   REUNION.  71 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — I  rise  in  response  to  your  call,  but 
it  is  too  late  in  the  day  for  me  to  address  you,  after  all  the  in- 
teresting speeches  j^ou  have  heard.  It  gives  nie  unbounded 
pleasure  to  be  here. 

I  noticed,  on  going  into  the  church,  one  of  my  teachers  of 
forty  years  ago,  whom  I  never  shall  forget.  Her  name  is  Han- 
nah Burt,  and  I  went  to  school  to  her  one  or  two  teims,  in  the 
Bridgman  district.  I  hold  in  sacred  remembrance  all  m^^  old 
school  teachers.  Miss  Burt  introduced  in  school  an  innovation 
on  the  old  Puritan  custom  of  standing  in  2:irayer.  She  had  wor- 
ship faithfully,  morning  and  evening,  and  she  required  all  her 
scholars  to  l^neel.  Those  seasons  of  worship — the  kneeling  and 
praying — produced  a  lasting  impression  on  my  mind.  Almost 
all,  if  not  all,  of  those  scholars  united  with  the  church  in  early 
life ;  some  became  deacons,  and  some  ministers.  Five  of  the 
families  represented  in  that  school  sent  forth  ministers  ;  one 
family  two  ;  and  one  a  foreign  missionary. 

There  certainly  w^as  never  a  better  place  than  Westhampton 
to  bring  up  children.  Those  of  my  own  age  in  town,  with  hard- 
ly an  exception,  became  excellent  christian  men  and  women. 

To-day  we  call  to  remembrance  with  delight  and  gratitude 
our  pastors  and  teachers,  our  parents  and  grandparents.  It 
seemed  to  me  in  my  boyhood,  that  the  town  itself  was  as  old  as 
these  everlasting  hills  ;  and  it  produces-  now  a  strange  feeling 
to  reflect  that  the  first  pastor,  the  pastor  of"  my  grandparents 
before  my  parents  were  born,  was  for  many  years  my  pastor  ! 

We  shall  go  from  this  delightful  Reunion  to  our  homes  in  the 
east  and  in  the  west  with  renewed  courage  and  zeal,  to  honor 
and  maintain  the  principles  and  practices  of  our  forefathers. 

Rev.  Enos  J.  Montague,  of  Oconomowoc,  Wisconsin,  was  intro- 
duced., and  he  submitted  the  following  remarks  : 

3Ir.  President: — This  is  an  unusual  occasion,  an  unusual  gath- 
ering. It  is  customary  for  towns  to  hold  centennial  celebrations  ; 
but  this  not  such  a  celebration  ;  for  though  it  is  about  one  hun- 
dred years  since  the  first  settlements  in  this  town  were  made, 
yet  it  Avas  not  to  celebrate  that  event  that  we  came  together  to- 
da}'.  This  is  a  Reunion.  This  town,  having  sent  out  into  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  land  many  of  her  families,  and  many  of  her 
sons  and  daughters,  and  still  holding  them  in  high  esteem  and 
love,  has  sent  them  an  invitation  to  come  back  and  see  her  and 
each  other.  This  is  something  of  very  unusual  occurrence.  It 
is  a  compliment  paid  by  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  town,  to 
those  of  us  who  have  gone  to  other  places  to  form  for  our- 
selves new  homes.  Every  town  would  not  wish  to  see  all  her 
childi-en  come  back  again  ;  no  town  would,  unless  those  children 
had  acted  Avorthily  in  their  new  spheres  in  life.     The  invitation. 


72  WESTHAMPTON     REUNION. 

therefore,  which  has  brought  us  here  to-day  from  far  distant 
homes,  is  a  silent  hut  most  expressive  testimony  to  the  regard 
in  ^Yhich.  we  are  held  by  our  native  town. 

But  more  than  this.  Having  been  pei'mitted  to  be  here  for 
the  past  few  weeks,  I  have  seen  something  of  the  care,  labor  and 
expense  connected  with  the  preparation  for  this  large  gathering. 
It  was  no  small  matter  to  provide  for  so  great  a  company.  But 
the  people  have  done  it,  and  done  it  well.  Cheerfully,  liberally 
and  abundantly  have  they  provided  for  us.  as  indeed  we  all  see 
about  us  and  before  us  to  day. 

It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  that  something  more  than  the  mere 
vote  of  thanks  which  we  have  formall}^  passed,  is  due  to  the  res- 
idents of  this  town,  whose  guests  we  are.  That  vote  should  be 
emphasized.  We  who  are  the  special  recipients  of  this  consid- 
eration should  give  to  these  fathers  and  mothers,  these  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  special  thanks  and  some  more  marked  express- 
ion of  our  gratitude  to  them  for  this  memorable  occasion. 

As  to  the  continued  existence  of  this  town  with  an  American 
population,  let  us  not  have  any  fears  or  doubts  upon  that  point. 
Yankee  blood  is  not  going  to  run  out  here.  The  Yankee  popu- 
lation is  not  to  be  exterminated  here.  One  cannot  go  into  this 
church  on  the  Sabbath  and  see  the  large  number  of  young  peo- 
ple in  the  congregation,  Avithout  the  conviction  that  this  a 
thriving  town  so  -far  as  population  is  concerned.  There  are, 
surely,  rocks  and  hills  here,  and  a  hard  and  scanty  soil ;  in  some 
respects  it  is  a  hard  place  to  live  in.  But  we  must  not  think 
that,  for  such  reasons,  these  homesteads  are  to  be  vacated  and 
given  over  to  a  foreign  race. 

May  heaven's  best  blessings  ever  rest  on  the  good  old  town 
of  Westhampton,  and  especially  on  those  who  "  abide  by  the 
stuff." 

Rev.  Mr.  Bisbee,  of  "VYorthington,  Massachusetts,  said  :        , 

Mr.  President : — I  am  happy  to  be  present  to-da_Y,  and  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  festivities  of  this  joyful  occasion,  although  not  a 
native  of  this  place.  It  was  not  my  blessed  privilege  to  be  born 
and  nurtured  in  this  goodly  town^  And  yet  if  the  theory  of  a 
distinguished  writer  concerning  the  pre-existent  state  is  correct, 
I  do  not  know  but  I  might  just  as  well  have  been  born  here  as 
any  where  else,  if  I  had  desired  it.  But  as  it  is,  my  better  half 
was  born  here,  and  hence  perhaps  I  may  be  regarded  as  a  semi- 
native.  Some  one  has  remarked  that  this  is  a  good  place  to  go 
from,  but  j'on  will  readily  understand  that  I  have  found  it  an 
excellent- place  to  come  to.  It  was  my  privilege  to  be  well  ac- 
quainted with  those  venerable  men,  who  have  already  been  allu- 
ded to  as  the  fathers  of  the  town.  Hale,  and  Hooker,  and  Judd, 
and  others  too  numerous  to  mention,  of  like  spirit  and  charac- 


WESTHAMPTON  REUNION.  73 

ter,  even  now  seem  to  rise  up  before  me.  I  cheerfully  endorse 
all  that  has  been  said  here  to-day,  in  praise  of  their  worth,  their 
character,  and  their  salutary  moral  and  religious  influence. 
They  were  men  of  the  true  New  England  stamp.  By  their  wis- 
dom, piet}"  and  patriotism  the  foundation  of  this  town  was  laid 
deep  and  broad,  on  which  its  noble  superstructure  has  been 
reared.  It  has  been  said  that  New  England  is  "  the  brains  of 
this  nation."  To  leave  this  out  in  the  cold,  therefore,  as  has 
been  proposed,  would  be  to  separate  the  head — the  thinking, 
acting  power, — from  the  bod^'.  New  England  principles,  piety 
and  patriotism  are  the  life,  soul  and  salt  of  the  nation.  Let 
these  become  universal  throughout  our  widely  extended  coun- 
try, and  there  will  be  no  more  causeless  rebellious  against  the 
best  government  in  the  world,  but  liberty,  justice,  equality  and 
fraternity  will  prevail  throughout  our  nation. 

The  Rev.  A.  M.  Colton,  of  Easthampton,  being  called  for, 
responded  as  follows : 

Mr.  President: — Unfortunate  myself  in  not  having  been  born 
in  Westhampton — (the  President,  "  I  am  sorry  for  you,")  so  am 
I ;  but  I  cannot  help  it ;  but  being  called  for,  I  will  respond  in 
a  brief  word.  I  have  been  listening  with  intense  interest  to 
what  has  been  said  about  the  ministers  of  this  good  old  town. 
In  my  early  childhood,  I  knew  one  of  them,  then  a  young  man, 
teaching  a  district  school,  and  in  the  evenings  a  singing  school, 
in  the  A'illage  of  ni}^  native  town  in  northern  Vermont.  To  that 
singing  school  went  my  father  and  his  big  bass-viol  and  small 
boy.  Some  little  time  afterwards,  boy  has  a  three  months'  con- 
test with  Polly  Dee  in  spelling — the  medal  a  ninepence,  perfora- 
ted, and  pendant  with  a  tow  string.  Boy  beats  and  comes  off 
conqueror,  and  grand  !  and  he  never  got  any  higher.  Present 
at  that  examination  the  singing-master  aforesaid,  and  his  inten- 
ded. Boy  never  saw  him  afterwards,  but  remembered  him  well ; 
heard  of  his  being  settled  as  a  minister  in  West  Rutland,  Ver- 
mont, and  subsequently  in  Westhampton.  When  in  June,  1840, 
I  came  to.  settle  in  this  region,  I  resolved  to  take  the  earliest 
opportunity  to  go  and  see  the  good  minister.  Rev.  Amos  Drur^', 
name  dear  to  me  by  those  early  and  sacred  associations.  But 
delay  snatched  from  me  the  long  wished-for  privilege.  August 
came,  and  Mr.  Drury  went  up  higher.  I  have  ever  since  re- 
gretted my  failure  to  see  him,  for  I  had  laid  the  thing  much  to 
heart.  But  there^  on  that  seat  yonder,  sits  his  son  and  repre- 
sentative, chairman  of  your  committee,  and  right  glad  am  I  to 
meet  Mm. 

Much  has  been  said,  and  not  too  much,  respecting  good  Fa- 
ther Hale — his  work  and  power  in  forming  this  people  to  knowl- 
edge and  thrift,  to  goodness  and  virtue.     I  can  well  believe 


74  WESTHAJIPTON   REUNION. 

every  word  pf  it.  We,  neighboring  ministers,  happen  to  have 
learned  long  ago,  that  this  people  know  a  something  and  more. 
How  could  they  help  it  ?  An  intelligent  people,  given  to  read- 
ing good  books — not  the  yellow-covered  trash — scum  and  froth — 
"  frogs"  that  "  came  up  and  covered  the  land  of  Egypt" — not 
these,  but  books  that  are  books,  substantial,  solid,  wholesome, 
good  for  food — to  make  bones  of,  and  good  blood,  and  muscle, 
and  mind.  And  whence  this  learning?  The  fountains  were 
pure  and  sweet.  Those  formative  influences  at  the  start ;  that 
early  good  nurture  and  culture — Parson  Hale — his  sermons 
weighty  in  thought — the  training  in  the  catechism — his  labors  in 
the  schools  ;  his  visits  in  the  families  ;  the  good  minister  in  ev- 
ery good  thing.  So  the  testimonies  to-day,  by  eye-witnesses,  and 
b}^  tradition.  "  The  glory  of  children  are  their  fathers."  The 
good  efl'ects  are  visible  now  among  this  people,  in  the  intelli- 
gence for  which  they  are  known  and  noted.  You  dwell  apart, 
and  this  very  isolation  helps  j'ou.  You  see  and  hear  less  of 
whirl  and  din  ;  it  is  leisure  for  the  more  reading  and  thinking. 
One  of  your  speakers  to-day  said  that  "Long  Division,"  the 
Westhampton  of  the  olden  time,  was  once  looked  down  upon  by 
the  river-siders  as  a  rather  inferior  sort,  not  quite  up  to  first- 
best  in  mind  and  knowledge.  Did  they  ?  But  who  says  that 
now,  or  thinks  it  in  his  heart? 

You  have  had  along  succession  of  excellent  ministers.  Some 
of  them  I  have  known,  and  known  only  to  love  and  revere. 
About  one  of  these  let  me  add  a  word — my  noble  good  brother, 
Rev.  Capt.  Bissell.  I  well  remember  visiting  him  in  18G2,  that 
darkest  time  in  our  late  war.  You  should  have  heard  him  talk 
then  !  Gentle  and  christian,  but  patriotic  and  full  of  fight.  It 
was  a  fire  in  his  bones  ;  no  dissuasions  could  stop  or  hinder  him. 
Two  of  his  brothers  were  already  in  the  field,  and  he  must  join 
,  them.  So  ofli"  he  posted,  stopping  at  my  house  on  his  way  to 
his  native  home,  to  gain,  if  possible,  his  father's  consent.  By 
earnest  pleading  he  prevailed.  He  came  back,  lighter  of  heart — 
told  his  people  of  his  purpose — enlisted  as  a  private — took  with 
him  the  choicest  of  his  flock — and  went  forth,  not  knowing 
whither.  Company  K  and  Capt.  Bissell.  He  would  have  pre- 
ferred a  Chaplaincy,  but  was  willing  to  serve  in  any  capacity. 
But  the  men  early  markrd  him  for  their  Captain,  and  to  that  de- 
cision he  cheerful^  submitted.  And  no  braver  man  was  in  that 
regiment,  or  any  regiment.  Most  worthil}^,  as  by  all  accounts, 
did  he  carrj^  himself  through  that  whole  j'ear  of  trials  and  per- 
ils. And  what  of  those  other  Westhampton  boys  in  blue? 
Their  praise  was  and  is  in  the  whole  region  round  about.  Hale 
and  hearty,  resolute,  untiring,  never  flinching — and  withal  in- 
telligent and  christian — their  tent  prayer  meeting  was  known 
and  spoken  of  as  the  model  one  of  the  regiment.     I  say  this 


WESTHAIVIPTON    KEUNION.  75 

from  abundant  testimonies.     Ma}^  God  bless  the  "Westhampton 
boys  for  their  noble  part  in  the  great  struggle  1 

Friends,  I  heartily  rejoice  with  3'ou  all  in  the  auspices  of  this 
joyful  Reunion,  As  I  said  here  the  other  day,  so  now  again. 
All  hail,  Westhamptou  !  the  Hebron,  the  Bethlehem,  nestling  in 
the  hill  sides,  not  least  among  the  thousands  of  Judah.  Abund- 
ant blessings  on  her  children  within  her,  on  them  that  are  far 
off  and  them  that  are  near ;  on  her  sons  and  daughters,  her 
young  men  and  maidens,  her  old  men  and  children. 

Eev.  W.  S.  Coggin,  of  Bosford,  brother  of  one  of  the  for- 
mer pastors  of  the  church,  being  requested  by  the  chair  to  offer 
some  remai'ks,  rose  and  said  : 

I  feel,  Mr.  President,  as  if  it  were  hardl}'  proper  for  me  to  ■ 
occupy  any  time  on  this  occasion,   inasmuch   as  there  are  so 
mau}^  present,  natives  of  this  town,  who  have  a  better  claim  on 
your  attention ;  but  as  I. have  been  so  kindl}'  invited,  I  will  say 
a  few  words. 

I  think,  sir,  that  Westhamptou  may  well  be  somewhat  lioast- 
ful.  I  think  she  has  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  children.  AVhere 
will  you  find  a  town,  of  no  larger  population,  that  has  sent  forth 
so  much  talent,  learning  and  moral  worth  to  bless  the  world? 
What  other  town  has  furnished  a  better  representation  of  the 
several  professions,  especiall}^  the  ministerial?  AVe  are  told,  in 
the  Book  of  Inspiration,  that  "  the  glory  of  children  is  their 
fathers."  Is  not  the  reverse  of  this  also  true?  Is  not  the  glory 
of  fathers  their  children  ?  Does  not  an  intelligent  and  virtuous 
posterity  reflect  honor  upon  their  ancestrj^?  I  must  confess, 
sir,  that  what  I  have  seen  and  heard  to-day  has  made  me  almost 
wish  that  I  had  been  born  in  Westhamptou.  And  yet  this  wish 
has  not  been  wholly  created  by  the  scenes  of  this  day.  It  has 
long  existed,  and  has  been  fostered  by  an  acquaintance  of  more 
than  twenty  years.  The  kind  attentions  I  have  ever  received, 
as  from  time  to  time  I  have  visited  this  place,  have  much  at- 
tached me  to  the  people  ;  and  this  attachment  has  been  especi- 
all}^  increased,  as  I  have  noticed  the  love  they  had  for  my  de- 
parted brother,  a  love  that  was  manifested  in  so  man}'  forms, 
and  continued  nnwavering  and  unimpaired  till  the  hour  of  his 
death  ;  yea,  a  love  that  even  now  is  not  quenched.  0,  how 
much  better  it  is  to  weep  over  his  death,  than  over  his  life  !  As 
the  earthly  existence  of  even  some  ministers  has  closed  in  dark- 
ness, it  certainly  is  a  matter  of  rejoicing  to  me,  as  I  doubt  not 
it  is  to  his  people,  that  the  sun  of  his  life  never  shone  brighter 
than  at  its  going  down.  Although  so  many  years  have  passed 
•  away,  since  it  sank  below  the  horizon,  are  not  its  beams  still 
thrown  back?  "Being  dead,  does  he  not  yet  speak?"  Surely 
the  moral  influence  that  men  exert,  never  dies. 

«  / 


76  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 

There  are  not  a  few  whom  you  woiilcl  have  been  glad  to  have 
had  with  you  to  day  ;  but  thev  were  so  for  away,  and  so  high 
above  you,  that  no  letters  of  invitation  couldj'each  them.  They 
have  gone  to  a  higher  and  better  sphere.  And  yet,  are  the}^  not 
.present  with  j^ou  in  spirit?  Maj"  the}^  not  be  cognizant  of  what 
is  here  transpiring?  Can  j'ou  not  seem  to  see  them  bending 
down  from  their  high  abode  as  interested  spectators?  Can  you 
not  seem  to  hear  them  speaking  to  j^ou,  congratulating  you  upon 
this  happy  occasion,  and  bidding  you,  as  j'ou  separate  and  go  to 
your  respective  homes,  so  to  live,  and  so  to  discharge  j-our  du- 
ties, personal  and  relative,  that,  when  you  shall  be  sleeping  in 
the  dust,  and  3'our  posterity  shall  meet  here  on  a  similar  occa- 
sion, a  hundred  years  hence,  they  may  point  to  your  virtues  and 
■  hold  up  your  example  as  worthy  of  their  imitation  ? 

The  President  then  read  the  following  letters,  apologizing  for 

unavoidable  absence  from  the  Reunion : 

N'OKWiCH,  Mass.,  Septembers,  1866. 
To  R.   W.  Clapp,  one  of  the  Weathampton  Beunion  Committee: 

Mr  Dear  Nephew. — My  health  has  been  quite  feeble  of  late,  but  I  did  not  en- 
tirely relinquish  the  hope  of  being  at  the  meeting  in  my  native  town,  until  this 
morning.  Be  assured  that  my  heart  will  be  there;  and  it  will  be  my  earnest  prayer 
that  those  who  may  assemble,  and  those  who  may  be  prevented,  may  be  abundant- 
ly blessed,  and  that  we  ma.v  have  a  happy  Reunion  in  the  world  of  glory. 
Yours,  very  affectionately, 

Ebenezer  Burt  Wright. 

I  Salem,  September  1,  1866. 

Messrs.  Rice  and  others.   Committee^  &c.: 

Gentlemen. — Your  circular  inviting  me  to  meet  the  citizens  and  sons  of  West- 
hampton  ought  to  have  received  an  earlier  answer.  But  I  have  used  the  privilege 
of  an  invalid  and  have  waited  week  after  week,  hoping  to  say  I  should  be  with  you 
in  person,  and  not  in  spirit  only.  As  it  is,  I  must  be  content  to  give  you  my  word 
as  the  testimony  and  assurance  of  all  that  I  feel  and  venerate  in  the  home  of  my 
childhood  and  youth.  It  is  a  goodly  company  that  rises  up  before  me  at  this  call  of 
my  native  town,  some  among  the  living  but  more  among  the  dead.  I  recall  many 
whom  you  will  meet  next  Wednesday,  and  many  whom  you  will  miss.  Memory  so 
faithful  to  her  trust,  will  not  let  die  those  who  have  once  been  dear  to  us  through 
the  ties  of  friendship  and  kindred.  I  could  never  forget  WesthamptDn,  for  besides 
the  sacred  relations  that  still  bind  me  to  it  by  living  sympathies,  there  is  sacred 
dust  in  your  churchyard  which  hallows  the  very  earth  to  mind  and  heart. 

CouM  I  be  present  at  3'our  Reunion,  I  should  meet  only  a  few  of  my  early 
companions,  the  larger  part  having  passed  beyond  the  reach  of  any  earthly  sum- 
mons. But  it  is  a  joy  to  remember  them  and  to  recall  their  names  and  their  vir- 
tues. Foremost  among  them  is  one  who  was  a  few  years  my  senior,  but  in  later  life 
through  the  affinities  of  the  same  profession  and  the  same  religious  faith,  came  very 
near  to  me,  and  whose  memory  is  now  among  the  cherished, treasures  of  my  life. 
Sylvester  Judd  holds  a  place  in  both  the  literature  and  church  of  New  England 
which  has  given  him  a  representative  character  in  the  history  of  his  time.  "Mar- 
garet," the  work  by  which  he  is  most  widely  known,  and  which  pictures  so  much 
of  the  natural  scenery  of  Westhampton,  has  been  fitly  called  the  "first  Yankee 
novel."  Through  and  through  it  is  an  American  book,  genuine  product  of  Ameri- 
can thought.  IJarley,  with  the  instinct  of  true  genius,  saw  how  much  it  contained 
suited  to  the  purposes  of  illustrative  art,  and  has  given  us  a  companion  volume  of 
high  and  rare  artistic  merit.  These  two  books  are  worthy  of  a  place  in  every  West: 
hampton  home.  I  first  read  "Margaret"  when  living  in  one  of  our  southern  states 
in  the  city  of  Savannah,  and  felt  that  the  author,  then  unknown  to  me,  had  seen 
what  I  had  been  familiar  with  through  all  my  youth.  I  knew  that  the  scenery  and 
scenes  represented  so  vividly  and  distinctly  by  him  were  the  peculiar  ravines  and 


WESTHAMPTON    REUNION.  77 

Mils  and  hamlets  of  my  native  toTvn.  Mr.  Jucld  told  me  afterward!?,  wlien  gather- 
ing his  materials  for  that  book,  he  went  carefully  over  the  western  part  of  West- 
hampton  to  freshen  and  revive  the  impressions  of  his  boyhood.  While  paying  this 
slight  tribute  to  his  memory,  I  ought  to  add  that  he  was  as  eminent  for  an  earnest 
and  sincere  piety  as  he  was  for  creative  and  literary  ability.  His  romances  had  in 
them  the  religious  fervor  and  christian  purpose  of  his  sermons.  He  died  at  the 
time  of  his  greatest  promise,  with  unused  powers  waiting  for  opportunities  to  call 
them  into  action.  I  cannot  regard  him  as  altogether  departed,  but  I  recaU  him  to- 
day among  my  WesthaSipton  associations,  as  one  of  the  strong  spiritual  forces  not 
only  of  the  past  but  of  the  present. 

Another  of  my  companions,  and  one  whom  I  like  to  recall,  was  Jonathan  S.  Judd, 
a  man  of  most  refined  feeling,  clear  intellectual  perceptions,  very  graceful  in  both 
his  thought  and  writing.  I  saw  him  but  rarely  in  the  later  years  of  his  life,  but  I 
have  heard  from  his  friends  that  he  matured  wonderfully  in  all  these  original  quali- 
ties of  his  nature,  and  became  of  a  most  enthusiastic  spirit,  clear  in  his  visions  of 
the  future,  very  genial  and  catholic  in  all  his  religious  sympathies. 

There  are  others  whose  names  it  is  a  pleasure  to  mention — Asahel  layman,  Luke 
Phelps,  Hall  Judd,  and  Daniel  Clark.  These  have  all  entered  into  their  rest.  Two 
only  of  my  more  intimate  friends  are  still  living,  Philetus  Hale  and  8ylvanus  Clapp. 
The  latter  was  my  earliest  playmate;he  has  been  my  lifelong  friend,  and  is  now  one 
of  the  leading  phvsicians  of  Rhode  Island,  a  man  as  faithful  in  his  friendships  as 
he  has  been  successful  in  his  profession. 

Among  these  pleasant  memories  ot  my  youth,  I  cannot  pass  over  without  a  word 
of  gratitude  the  church  and  the  preaching  of  that  time,  and  which  have  given  di- 
rection to  all  my  later  life.  Some  of  you  who  have  remained  by  the  old  hearth- 
stones, may  think  I  have  wandered  from  the  faith  that  first  so  impressed  me,  but 
certainly  I  have  not  lost  the  spirit  that  breathed  and  burned  in  the  prayers  and  ser- 
mons of  Horace  B.  Chapin.  In  my  own  ministry,  I  have  never  forgotten  my  earliest 
spiritual  home,  or  the  holy  influence  that  I  have  ever  drawn  from  it — the  church  of 
Westhampton. 

These  early  recollections  would  be  very  imperfect,  if  I  did  not  refer  to  the  origi- 
nal characters  and  quaint  old  men  who  always  said  sharp  things,  whenever  they 
said  any  thing.  It  seems  now  that  I  heard  more  wit  and  humor  in  my  boyhood 
than  I  have  ever  heard  since.  But  I  can  not  indulge  in  particulars  without  pro- 
longing my  letter  which  I  fear  will  weary  you  as  it  is.  Still  I  cannot  help  wishing 
that  some  Sylvester  Judd  would  write  the  biography  of  "Uncle  Bill  "  and  some 
other  queer  old  souls  whom  I  so  well  remember. 

Let  me  conclude  these  recollections  with  a  tribute  to  those  sons  of  Westhampton 
who  were  my  friends  and  companions — the  wild  boys  who  matured  into  sober  and 
useful  men.  Yours  truly, 

Dexter  Clapp. 

Dr.  Sj'lvaniis  Clapp,  of  Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  sent  the  following 
letter,  after  the  Reunion  : 

Pawtccket,  September  IS,  1866. 
To  Ilalthias  Bice  and  others.  Committee  of  the  Reunion: 

It  would  have  been  pleasant  for  me  to  have  withdrawn  Irom  the  actife  sceiles 
aqd  duties  which  surround  me,  to  have  been  present  at  the  Reunion.  I  expected 
to  nave  done  so  until  the  day  before,  when  I  found  it  impossible  for  me  to  do  so,  on 
account  of  the  dangerous  illness  of  two  of  my  patients,  and  of  course  unable  to 
send  a  letter  in  season  for  the  occasion. 

I  had  looked  forwa'd  to  the  day  with  great  satisfaction  when  I  should  visit  my 
child-home,  and  look  upon  faces,  once  my  companions  in  life,  after  years  of  sepa- 
ration. And  this  was  rendered  doubly  so  when  I  thought  of  the  many  gem  homes 
that  there  existed  in  good  old  Westhampton.  I  need  only  to  mention  the  names  of 
Hale,  Hooker,  Edwards,  Hall,  Kingsley,  Clark,  Judd,  Lyman,  Parsons,  Phelps, 
Norton,  Burt,  Clapp,  Bridgman,  Montague  and  Rust,  to  remind  you  that  here  lived 
some  of  the  choicest  spirits  of  the  land.  Good  nature  and  kindness  always  existed 
among  them. 

We  joined  together  in  the  jocund  laugh,  and  passed  through  the  bright  days  of 
boyhood  together.  Enduring  friendships  were  formed  and  kind  feelings  originated 
that  will  only  forsake  me  when  remembrance  itself  ."^hall  cease. 

The  sailor  loves  iiis  ship  ;  to  her  none  is  superior.  The  soldier  loves  his  regi- 
ment ;  a,nd  his  is  the  best.  And  who,  to  the  last  day  of  his  life,  does  not  uphold 
the  fireside  round  wbicU  he  played  when  a  child,  and  all  its  associations? 


78  WESTIIAJMPTON    REUNION. 

These  are  attacliments  that  grow  upon  us,  that  arc  founded  in  human  nature. 
Can  we  wonder  that  there  is  within  us  a  love  for  the  town  in  which  we  were  born 
and  brought  up  ;  a  pride  for  it  which  will  not  brook  to  hear  anything  disrespectful 
said  of  it?  And  when  I  remember  the  many  choice  spirits  that  have  gone  out  from 
it,  of  the  noblest  and  purest  blood  of  the  land,  well  may  I  feel  proud  of  my  native 
town.  I  should  like  to  rest  there  the  remainder  of  my  life.  Did  I  say  rest  ?  No- 
where i3  rest  to  be  found.  It  would  rather  be  a  delay  than  rest.  We  are  all  in  the 
great  cycle  of  change.  Continually  changing  !  We  are  breathing  off  nearly  one 
pound  of  charcoal  daily.  Our  career  would  soon  be  terminated  were  not  the  waste 
supplied  by  daily  food  ; — daily  loss,  daily  gain.  Nothing  remains  permanent  but 
memory  and  the  consciousness  of  our  identity  ;  »nd  this  is  retained  in  a  body 
which  is  wholly  changed  every  few  years.  My  memory  delights  to  think  of  the 
scenes  enacted  in  my  native  town,  and  1  should  like  to  linger  awhile  and  wander 
over  its  hills  and  valleys.  It  also  teaches  me  this  important  lesson — the  necessity 
of  careful  and  rigid  habits'of  thought ;  that  a  fact,  unperceived  or  viewed  improper- 
ly, is  a  link  lost  in  the  chain  of  truth. 

It  was  a  great  disappointment  for  me  not  to  have  been  with  you  on  that  joyous 
day.  Tliis  disappointment  reminds  me  that  there  is  not  always  a  morning  bright- 
ness on  the  skies,  and  that  night  succeeds  to-day  ;  that  each  strain  of  music  has 
its  final  note  ;  that  summer  flowers  and  winter  snows  have  an  end.  I'et  notwith- 
standing these  vicissitudes,  friendship  survives  them  all,  and  lives  on  amidst  muta- 
tions. It  survives  these  earthly  changes,  and  binds  men  together  in  trial  as  well  as 
prosperity.  It  becomes  hallowed  by  distance,  and  waxes  stronger  and  .stronger  by 
the  lapse  of  time.     Such,  gentlemen,  I  trust,  is  my  friendship  for  you  all. 

Truly  yours, 

S.    Clapp. 

Mr.  E.  C.  Bridgmau,  of  New  York,  said : 

Mr.  President : — A  minute  or  two,  if  3'ou  please,  before  we 
break  up.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  make  a  speech.  Some  years 
since,  a  letter  came  to  me  from  a  gentleman  of  this  town,  solic- 
iting my  interest  and  aid  in  procuring  a  town  library.  In  my 
repl}^,  information  was  asked  concerning  the  old  library.  -He 
could  give  none  ;  nor  could  he  find  any  one  who  knew  what  be- 
came of  it.  AVell  do  I  recollect  the  pleasure  experienced  in  the 
perusal  of  books  drawn,  now  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  from 
the  old  library  of  the  town,  and  from  that  of  Southampton, 
while  a  member  of  "Sheldon  Academy." 

This  is  no  ordinar}'  entertainment  to  which  the' absent  natives  of 
Westhampton  are  invited.  Nothing  to  be  compared  with  it  can 
we  expect  to  enjoy  again  this  side  of  the  River.  To  show  our 
appreciation  of  and  gratitude  for  what  has  been  done  for  us,  I 
suggest  that  we  take  action  in  the  formation  of  a  town  libraij}'. 
Some  of  us  have  money ;  some  have  books — good  books  that 
we  do  not  need  ;  and  all,  I  feel  sure,  are  disposed  to  do  some- 
thing. To  set  the  "  ball  in  motion,"  I  offer,  for  this  object,  one 
liundred  dolbxrs. 

The  President  proposed  that  the  pastor's  library  should  come 
in  for  its  share  of  attention  ;  and  the  whole  subject  of  the  libra- 
ries was  referred  to  a  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  E.  C. 
Bridgman,  Otis  Clapp,  S.  F.  Phelps,  Dr.  Hooker,  E.  M.  Kings- 
ley,  and  Rev.  Mr.  AUender. 

On  motion  it  was  resolved,  that  the  proceedings  of  this  occa- 


WESTHASrPTON    REUNIOX.  79 

sion  be  published  in  a  pamplilet  form  ;  and  Rev.  Doras  Clarke, 
Eev.  George  Lyman  and  Prof.  Montague  were  appointed  a 
Committee  to  carry  that  vote  into  effect. 

Mr.  G.  B.  Drury,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments, returned  the  thanks  of  the  Committee  to  the  citizeu^e  of 
the  town,  who  had  so  liberally  responded  to  their  call,  in  mak- 
ing such  ample  arrangements  for  the  entertainment  of  the  large 
number  of  guests. 

By  request  of  the  President,  Rev.  Doras  Clarke  pronou  need 
the  apostolic  benediction  ;  and  after  many  parting  salutations, 
the  large  assembly  broke  up,  and  slowly  retired  from  a  scene 
they  will  long  remember  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  their 
history. 

A  gentleman  from  abroad  who  is  not  a  native,  after  listening 
to  all  the'^exercises  of  the  daj',  went  home,  making  the  exclama- 
tion :  "  "Well,  it's  of  no  use  to  be  born  at  all,  unless  you  were 
born  in  TVesthampton  !  " 


80  WESTHAMPTON    REUNION. 


PASTORS  OF  THE  WESTHAMPTON  CHURCH. 

Rev.  Enoch  Hale  was  ordained  September  29,  1779,  and  con- 
tinued the  pastor  of  the  church  (or  senior  pastor,)  till  his  death, 
January  14,  1837,  at  the  age  of  83,  making  a  period  of  fifty-sev- 
en years,  three  months  and  fifteen  days.  Rev.  Joseph  Hunting- 
ton, D.  D.,  of  Coventry,  Connecticut,  preached  Mr.  Hale's  ordi- 
nation sermon  from  1  Cor.  2  :  7.  Rev.  Jonathan  Judd,  of  South- 
ampton, gave  the  Charge,  and  Rev.  Solomon  Williams,  of 
Northampton,  the  Right  Hand  of  Fellowship.  Rev.  Payson 
AVilliston  preached  his  funeral  sermon.     Text,  Hfeb.  13  :  7. 

Rev.  Horace  B.  Chapin  was  installed  colleague  pastor,  July 
8,  1829,  President  Humphrey,  of  Amherst  College,  preaching 
the  sermon.  Mr.  Chapin  was  dismissed  at  his  own  request. 
May  1,  1837. 

Rev.  Amos  Drury  was  installed  June  28,  1837.  Rev.  Mr. 
Goodwin  preached  the  sermon.  Mr.  Drury  died  at  Pittsford, 
Vermont,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  friends,  July  22,  18.41,  aged  49. 

Rev.  David  Coggin  was  ordained  Maj-  11,  1842.  Rev.  Jacob 
Coggin,  of  Tewksbury,  his  father,  preached  the  sermon.  Mr. 
Coggin  died  April  28,  1852,  aged  37. 

Rev.  Andrew  Bigelow  was  installed  March  2,  1854.  Sermon 
by  Rev.  J.  P.  Cleaveland,  D.  D.  Mr.  Bigelow  was  dismissed 
April  18,  1855. 

Rev.  Roswell  Foster  was  installed  November  20,  185G.  Ser- 
mon by  Rev.  Eden  B.  Foster,  D.  D.  Mr.  Foster  was  dis- 
missed December  28,  1858. 

Rev.  [Edward  C.  Bissell  was  ordained  September  22,  1859. 
President  Stearns,  of  Amherst  College,  preached  the  sermon. 
Mr.  Bissell  was  dismissed  May  10,  1864. 

Rev.  Thomas  Allender,  the  present  pastor,  was  installed  June 
21,  1866.  Sermon  by  Prof.  Julius  H.  Seelye,  of  Amherst  Col- 
lege. 

The  first  meeting  house  was  built  about  1785,  in  the  old  style. 
A  new  meeting .  house  was  built  in  1816.  In  February,  1829, 
that  house  was  burnt.  The  present  house  of  worship  was  built 
the  next  year. 


WESTHA3HPT0N   REUNION.  '  81 

In  1828  a  new  Society  was  formed.  September  30th,  1829, 
another  church  was  organized  by  Rev.  John  Truair,  called  the 
Union  Church,  forty-one  members  of  which  seceded  from  the 
old  church.  Mr.  Truair  acted  as  pastor  of  this  new  church 
about  eight  years.  August  5, 1829,  the  Hampshire  Central  As- 
sociation withdrew  their  fellowship  from  Mr.  Truair,  and  October 
12,  1831,  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber, deposed  him  fi'om  the  ministry.  Gradually,  several  mem- 
bers of  the  Union  Church  went  back  to  their  first  love.  The 
Union  Church  was  formally  disbanded  August  17,  1850,  and, 
subsequently,  all  the  remaining  resident  members  returned, 
were  received  into  the  old  Church,  and  great  harmon}'-  has  since 
prevailed. 


82 


AVESTIIAMPTON    REUNION. 


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84  WESTHAMPTON   REUNION. 


PROFESSIONAL  MEN  FROM  WESTHAMPTON,  NOT 
GRADUATES. 

Dr.  Enoch  Hale.  He  received  his  medical  degree  at  Cam- 
bridge, in  1S13,  and  was  an  eminent  practitioner  in  Gardiner, 
Maine,  and  afterwards  in  Boston,  where  he  died  in  1846.  He 
was  the  author  of  several  important  medical  works. 

Dr.  Sylvanus  Clapp,  Pawtucket,  Rhode  Island.  He  was  ed- 
ucated at  the  medical  schools  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  and 
Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  is  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
Medical  Society,  a  Permanent  Member  of  the  American  Medi- 
cal Association,  and  has  been  President  of  the  Rhode  Island 
Medical  Society.  He  has  made  several  contributions  to"  the 
cause  of  science  in  his  profession,  the  principal  of  which  is  a 
treatise  on  Diabetes  Mellitus. 

Dr.  Oliver  D wight  Norton,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  He  has  been, 
for  several  years,  in  successful  practice  in  that  city. 

The  younger  men  in  that  profession  are  Drs.  Watson  Loud, 
Philo  Clark,  Henry  Cook  and  Mendal  Jewett. 

Christopher  Clapp,  Henry  Loud,  Joseph  Stearns  and  Anson 
Stearns  entered  the  ministry  of  different  denominations,  with- 
out a  regular  theological  education. 

John  A.  Judd,  Edwin  Cook,  Zenas  Kingsley,  Alvin  Clark, 
and  perhaps  others,  spent  some  time  in  college,  but  did  not  com- 
plete the  usual  curriculum,  nor  enter  the  learned  professions. 


WESTHAJIPTON   REUNION. 


85 


REUNION  ODE. 

This  original  Hymn  was  sung  by  the  choir  on  the  occasion. 

From  the  far-off  golden  West, 
Where  the  setting  sunbeams  rest, 
Where  majestic  rivers  sweep 
To  the  ocean's  broader  deep. — 

Te  are  here  with  us  to  meet, 

And  in  social  union  greet. 

From  the  South,  with  milder  clime, 
Honored  in  the  olden  time. 
From  yon  torn  and  crimson  field, 
Where  rich  harvests  Peace  shall  yield,— 

Ye  are  welcome,  as  ye  come. 

Soldiers,  to  your  native  home. 

From  the  East,  with  culture  crowned. 
From  that  grand  old  battle-ground. 
Where  our  fathers,  side  by  side, 
Fought  to  stay  oppression's  tide, — 

Glad  our  hearts  these  sons  to  see. 

Bulwarks  strong  of  Liberty. 

From  the  Xortet,  with  granite  hemmed. 
From  those  hills  with  beauty  gemmed. 
From  those  valleys  sleeping  low. 
Where  the  babbling  brooklets  flow,— 

Welcome  to  these  native  hills. 

Welcome  to  these  rippling  rills. 

Welcome  all  this  gathered  throng, 
Welcorre  now  in  cheerful  song; — 
Welcom3  be  this  festive  day. 
When  glad  offerings  here  we  lay 

On  the  Altar  that  we  love.— 

Cherished  once  by  those  above. 


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